Italy public housing shortage

In late July 2026, reports highlighted the plight of Italian families left without permanent homes while awaiting public housing. Two families in Lombardy, each with three children, were forced to live with relatives after rising rent and utility costs made their current housing unaffordable. Their applications for public housing had received no response, underscoring a broader national shortage of affordable and social housing.

A few days later, in early August 2026, Italian municipalities took concrete steps to address the crisis. In Palermo, authorities reclaimed three vacant public‑housing units after the previous occupants died and reassigned them to families on the emergency housing register, aiming to curb illegal occupations. In Taranto, the long‑occupied historic Palazzo De Bellis was cleared and slated for conversion into a student and university‑staff hub, while the nine displaced families were moved into a newly opened emergency social‑housing facility funded by the national recovery plan. These actions illustrate a shift from chronic waiting to active reallocation of public housing resources to families in need.