(Sixth Power) – Reggio Emilia – 7 May 2024 – It is increasingly difficult to find a house to rent, even for families with stable income. A phenomenon that contrasts with the fact that throughout the entire province there appear to be several hundred vacant homes.
There are many reasons that lead owners to keep properties empty, but in most cases the choice is linked to direct or indirect negative experiences: unpaid rent, damage to the property, legal expenses, etc.
To encourage the rental market, guarantee the rights of owners and at the same time offer solutions to many families looking for sustainable accommodation, the Emilia-Romagna Region (with Council resolution no. 2115/2021) presented the “Pact for la Casa”, a program aimed at expanding the offer of rental accommodation at controlled rent, which complements the measures already in place regarding rental support.
Acer Reggio Emilia, as required by Regional Law n. 24/2001, as the body institutionally responsible for the management of public residential real estate assets, through the instrument of the Rental Agency, established in 2008, is able to manage the activities envisaged in the “Housing Agreement” and concretely contribute to the launch of the regional program.
To date, the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and the Municipalities of the Tresinaro Secchia Union have joined the regional program, approved the local implementing regulation and entrusted the service to Acer Reggio Emilia.
The program was presented during a press conference, which took place at the headquarters of the Province of Reggio Emilia, which was attended by Marco Corradipresident of Acer Reggio Emilia, e Alberto Cirellipresident of Seta SpA
On the sidelines of the press conference, presidents Corradi and Cirelli signed the agreement according to which Acer will make two apartments available to Seta subsidized for subsidized residential rental – in viale Montegrappa, in the historic center – which can accommodate up to 12 people bed, to be allocated to Seta employees.
They were also present at the meeting Luca Benecchidirector of the unified social service of the Tresinaro Secchia Union, Chiara Lupi of the Sicet-Cisl union, the secretary of Sunia-Cgil, the provincial president of Confabitare, the owners’ association Stefania Soncini And Alberto Ferrari, Giuseppe Petracchiprovincial secretary of the Tenants Union, Emanuela Casavecchia of the local Filef association, the vice president of ACER Reggio Emilia Carlo Fornilithe general director Emilia Iori and the manager of ACER’s Rental Agency service, Monica Caramaschi.
HOME PACT
The program presented by the Emilia-Romagna Region aims to expand the number of rent-controlled accommodation available for rent, drawing from the vacant private housing stock, already ready and usable, to respond to the housing needs of the solvent and reliable middle segment of the population , but unable to afford the rental costs of free market housing. For owners who make their vacant accommodation available, the Housing Agreement provides guarantees and tax incentives, such as a fund to cover unpaid rent and condominium expenses in addition to any legal costs.
IMPLEMENTATION METHODS
The Housing Pact provides two implementation methods. In both cases, the relationship between the Rental Agency and the Municipality is regulated by a specific agreement and the Municipality supervises and controls the work of the Agency for the purposes of correct implementation of the Programme.
In the first case, the rental contract is stipulated between the owner and the tenant. The Agency takes on a support and intermediation role between the owner and the tenant, provides specific levels of service and guarantees and provides non-repayable contributions on behalf of the Municipality.
In the second case, the rental contract is stipulated directly between the owner and the Rental Agency, which in turn manages the accommodation independently and grants it to the tenant with a sub-leasing contract. The Agency, therefore, directly manages relationships with owners and tenants, provides specific levels of service and guarantees and manages the available resources. The activity of the Rental Agency is guaranteed in its activities by the Regional fund made available to the Program.
OWNERS
The owners make their accommodation available for at least 5 years (3+2) at an agreed rent as defined by the Territorial Agreements. For the purposes of accessing the Pact for Housing programme, the fee cannot exceed 800 euros per month.
The accommodation made available must be vacant and immediately usable or in any case affected by modest ordinary and extraordinary maintenance interventions, necessary to make them habitable, such as: Energy Performance Certificate (APE), declaration of conformity and safety measures for the electrical and gas systems , modest interventions that should be indispensable for effective use.
The Rental Agency supports them in the administrative and technical management of the property for the activation of the contract, the registration and subsequent closure of the same.
Depending on the implementation method chosen, the owners benefit from the punctual payment of the rent or are supported by the Agency in case of problems in collecting rent.
They can access the Guarantee Fund for arrears and disputes up to a maximum amount of 4,000 euros (which can increase up to 5,000 euros if the minimum rent envisaged by the Territorial Agreement is applied to the contract) to cover unpaid monthly rent, condominium expenses, for the restoration of any damage caused to the property through fraud or negligence serious on the part of the tenant, to cover legal expenses necessary for the resolution of any dispute with the tenant.
Furthermore, owners can access the guarantee fund for technical-administrative activities and maintenance interventions up to a maximum amount of €6,000., during the activation phase of the contract for the preparation of the Energy Performance Certificate, the declaration of conformity and safety of the systems, the registration of the contract and consequent expenses including any cost of certification, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance interventions which may prove essential for the use of the accommodation, etc.
During the conduct of the contract for carrying out extraordinary maintenance and/or urgent and non-deferrable interventions, including any checks and/or technical assessments preparatory to the interventions themselves.
In the process of closing the contract for the restoration of the property with respect to deterioration due to normal wear and tear, in order to bring it back to the same conditions it was in at the time of delivery.
Owners are guaranteed a shorter contract duration than free market contracts, the return of the availability of the accommodation and some tax breaks, such as the dedicated IMU rate equal to 6/1000 (instead of 7.6) and the flat rate tax. at 10%.
TENANTS
The tenant benefits from a stable reduction in rent in relation to the incidence of the rent compared to his family income, thanks to a portion of the fund made available by the Housing Pact.
The reduction is applied for the entire duration of the contract (3+2); in the event of contract renewal (+2) it is halved. The owner still receives the rent agreed with the Agency during the initial evaluation phase. Tenants are not required to pay a security deposit upon signing the contract as it is the Rental Agency that offers adequate guarantees of solvency.
ACER REGGIO EMILIA – MANAGER
Acer Reggio Emilia, through the Rental Agency service, following the stipulation of an agreement with the Municipalities, collaborates with the Municipalities for the search and identification of available accommodation and manages the accommodation made available by the owners, to which provides support and services, monitors the progress of the rental contract to minimize the use of guarantees and, if necessary, intervene promptly. It deals with the activation phase of the contract (APE, registration, declarations of conformity, etc…) and the management phase (any extraordinary maintenance interventions: e.g. broken sanitary ware, etc…).
Furthermore, at the end of the contract Acer follows the contractual closing phase and the return of the accommodation to the owner, managing any ordinary and extraordinary restorations. It manages any disputes arising from tenant arrears, also activating specific administrative-legal services regarding evictions and litigation. It monitors the state of the accommodation, through inspections, and carries out timely checks of any arrears (rent, condominium expenses). Through the internal Social Management service, Acer follows any disputes between the owner and tenant or between tenant and other condominium owners.
AGREEMENT WITH SETA SpA
Following the difficulties expressed by Seta SpA in finding housing accommodation for rent in Reggio Emilia for its staff coming from other provinces, such as to guarantee their stable accommodation in the city, Acer Reggio Emilia has made two owned apartments available in viale Montegrappa , in the historic center, which can accommodate a total of 12 beds. The agreement between Acer and Seta SpA was formally signed during the press conference.
STATEMENTS
Marco Corradi, president of Acer Reggio Emilia
“Every day we receive numerous requests for rent-controlled accommodation, both from companies, for their collaborators, and from private citizens, especially families. Unfortunately, nationally there are currently no resources available to build new housing and the rental market is blocked. The Housing Pact of the Emilia-Romagna Region supports middle-class families whose income does not allow them to support free market rents and at the same time are not included in the rankings for the assignment of social rent housing.
The Housing Pact also supports the strong unmet demand from companies, for which the availability of accommodation for staff is essential in order to attract workers and collaborators. The agreement with Seta SpA therefore paves the way for new future initiatives”.
Alberto Cirelli, president of Seta SpA
“Seta immediately joined with great satisfaction this agreement with Acer Reggio Emilia, which provides a first important solution to the problem of the availability and economic sustainability of accommodation. These are obviously temporary solutions aimed at those who come from outside the region and should therefore turn to the free market, with all the known associated difficulties. Helping public transport drivers to integrate more easily into our social fabric benefits both our company, which improves its attractiveness, and the community. In a national panorama in which concrete housing policies and, above all, resources allocated to them have long been lacking, this agreement represents a concrete intervention which I hope can also be replicated in the other Emilian territories in which Seta operates”.
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