On 7 May 2026, Decree-Law No. 66/2026 containing “Urgent Provisions for the Housing Plan” (the “Housing Decree-Law” or the “Decree”) was published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series No. 104.
The Housing Decree-Law is structured around three main pillars:
- measures aimed at promoting the development and enhancement of public housing (ERP) and social housing (ERS) projects
- the establishment of the so-called Housing Cohesion Fund, intended to support ERP and ERS initiatives; and
- integrated housing programmes (EI Programmes) aimed at individuals who are not eligible for ERP or ERS schemes.
1. ERP and ERS Projects
The Housing Decree-Law establishes an extraordinary national programme for the recovery and maintenance of public and social housing assets (the “Extraordinary Programme”), authorising overall expenditure of EUR 970 million to be disbursed between 2026 and 2030 in support of public and social housing projects.
Such contributions are granted:
- in favor of entities established or participated by local authorities whose purpose is the acquisition, construction, management and disposal of assets intended for public and social housing (the “Implementing Entities”)
- for projects involving the restoration of public housing units currently unavailable due to maintenance deficiencies and for the recovery of properties intended for social housing (respectively, the “ERS Projects” and the “ERP Projects”)
- through the execution of a specific agreement with Invitalia S.p.A., in compliance with Legislative Decree No. 36/2023.
For ERS Projects, offers are considered eligible where they:
1) provide for a reduction of the subsidised rent applicable at local level; 2) concern properties included in a list of unused and non-income-generating public assets; 3) are implemented within programmes aimed at addressing urban, building, environmental or social degradation, or within urban regeneration programmes, however named.
In order to ensure the implementation of ERP and ERS Projects, the Prime Minister appoints an Extraordinary Commissioner (the “Commissioner”), who shall remain in office until 31 December 2027.
From a simplification perspective:
- the Commissioner may derogate from statutory provisions in a manner analogous to Article 13(4) of Decree-Law No. 104/2023, without prejudice to the supervisory, monitoring and verification functions entrusted to the Monitoring Committee
- for the approval of acts necessary to implement ERP and ERS Projects, the Implementing Entity convenes a simplified Conference of Services pursuant to Article 14-bis of Law No. 241/1990, within which the consent of silent or absent public authorities—or authorities issuing unreasoned objections—is deemed acquired (Article 8(2))
- In the context of ERP and ERS Projects identified by the Monitoring Committee as particularly complex, where one of the authorities participating in the Conference of Services raises objections, the Commissioner may propose that the matter be submitted to the Council of Ministers for the relevant determinations.
2. The Housing Cohesion Fund
For the financing of ERP and ERS Projects, the Department for Cohesion Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (the “Department”) is authorised, in 2026, to subscribe units for an amount equal to EUR 100 million in a dedicated fund named the “Housing Cohesion Fund”, established by INVIMIT SGR S.p.A. (“Invimit”).
For this purpose, the Department shall execute the fund regulations prepared by Invimit, setting out the participation mechanisms, investment policies, implementation timelines, as well as monitoring, control and reporting procedures.
Units in the Fund may also be subscribed—through financing agreements pursuant to Article 59 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060—by:
(i) the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano; and
(ii) central administrations responsible for national programmes allocating resources to sustainable and affordable housing priorities.
In such cases, dedicated compartments shall be established within the Fund in favour of the Department and each subscribing Region, Autonomous Province or central administration, ensuring adequate accounting segregation of European and national resources.
3. Integrated Housing Programmes (EI Programmes)
The Decree also provides for integrated housing infrastructure programmes intended for individuals for whom access to the open housing market remains economically unsustainable, but who do not qualify for ERP or ERS schemes.
The main features of the EI Programmes are as follows:
- they are implemented primarily through private investments, with public resources limited to those available under existing legislation;
- they provide for the combined development, within the same territorial context, of subsidised housing and unrestricted residential housing;
- at least 70% of the overall investment within the relevant territorial area must be allocated to subsidised housing projects;
- subsidised housing projects are intended for lease or sale—at controlled rents or prices—to categories such as off-site university students or private-sector workers. Such controlled prices and rents must ensure a reduction of at least 33% compared to prevailing market values in the same area.
Where integrated housing projects are implemented through strategic investment programmes pursuant to Article 13 of Decree-Law No. 104/2023 and involve a foreign direct investment of at least EUR 1 billion, a Government Extraordinary Commissioner shall be appointed pursuant to the same Article 13.
The Commissioner:
- exercises the powers provided under paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Article 13 of Decree-Law No. 104/2023. In particular, the administrative acts required for the implementation of the strategic investment are issued within the framework of a simplified Conference of Services, concluding—where successful—with a single authorisation. Such single authorisation also constitutes an amendment to the applicable urban planning instruments
- may rely on a dedicated support structure operating under its direct supervision, as well as on the competent departments of the relevant territorial administrations on the basis of specific agreements.
In addition, subsidised housing projects benefit from certain incentives, including:
I. the application of the above-mentioned Article 3(4)(a) and Article 8(2) of the Decree
II. the exclusion of the area directly affected by the subsidised housing project from the calculation of the gross floor area of the development
III. the possibility to carry out construction works in parallel with remediation activities, the costs of which may be offset against urbanisation charges, subject to the consent of the relevant municipality. In such cases, the filing of the building title must be accompanied by a specific technical report addressing the coordination between construction and remediation activities.
The full text of the sentence is available here.
The Firm remains available for any further clarification.