The race doesn’t stop expensive rents: in some large capital cities the cost of an apartment in lease with free fee it can amount to almost half of an employee’s salary. Between 2018 and the 2023 the average weight of the rent on income from employment in the provincial capitals it went from 31.6% to 35.2%scoring an average of +3.6%. In some cities it reaches 40% with peaks of up to 46%.
Methodological note
The data comes from a survey by Sun 24 Hours, which cross-referenced the data from the Omi (Real Estate Market Observatory) with the tax statistics of the Finance Department. The inflation trend was then compared to the employee income declared in 2023 (relative to the 2022 tax year) which increased by +6.5% in nominal value compared to 2018.
The most expensive cities
TO Milan the high rents weigh on the 37.4% on the average salary of an employee: for a new contract a tenant must pay an average of 1,122 euros per month, 267 more than in 2018. A Florence 967 euros (46%). In Bologna the incidence is 40.2%.
In general, the average monthly salary in the Italian capitals was 615 euros in 2018. The figure in 2023 rose to 731 euros. Upward peaks were recorded at Vicenza (+8.5%) it’s at Bologna And Milan (both at +6.3%).
The increase in rents, the newspaper notes, has also exceeded the trend in inflation: if rents and the cost of money had gone hand in hand, the average rents in the Italian capitals would have stopped at 715 euros, instead of rising at 731 euros. Rents, therefore, exceeded inflation by +2.24%.
Help from flat rate tax
The flat rate tax excludes the possibility for landlords to automatically update the rent in line with inflation. Therefore, tenants who signed this form of rental contract were less affected by the price trend. There are 2.79 million rentals with flat rate tax in Italy, compared to 3.65 million homes rented by natural persons. Another weapon in the hands of tenants is the possibility of opting for rentals with an agreed rent in which the landlord agrees to collect less, applying pre-established maximum amounts, but finding himself paying less taxes (10% compared to the 21% applied under the flat rate tax regime).
Rental bonuses
In this state of affairs, rent bonuses for low-income tenants have little impact: the average benefit is around 171 euros. In the latest tax returns they have been used for over 1.2 million of employed workers, with an income of up to 31,000 euros. High rents do not only weigh on low-income families living in the most peripheral areas, but also on the middle class which has seen its possibilities dwindle in recent years.
Save 13 municipalities
13 provincial capitals were saved from the upward race in rents. The record marks it Pescara with an average impact on the salaries of employees of -126 euros per month. Continued Venice with -72 euros. But be careful: this parameter is affected by both the trend of rents and the trend of paychecks.
