Due to the pandemic, approximately 1.9 million Italian families have delayed or even skipped one or more rent installments between March 2020 and May 2021. The survey commissioned by Facile.it for the institute photographed the situation. Emg Different research which estimated a sum close to 1.3 billion euros in uncollected fees. In total, according to the research, there are potentially 445,000 families who, when the block on evictions envisaged by the government ends, may have to leave the rented home.
In Italy, according to the Revenue Agency, there are about 4.3 million lessors, for a total of 5.6 million properties leased with a regular contract. On the basis of the research data, the situations of arrears were detected throughout the national territory, but more markedly in Central and Southern Italy, with 51% (compared to a national average of 39%). The percentage of owners who received installments late or did not receive them at all is higher in Central and Southern Italy and is equal, respectively, to 39.2% and 17.5%.
Most of the time (39.7%) the owner decided to give the tenants additional time to pay the amount due, while in 16% of cases he preferred to agree on a new economic agreement. 15.3% instead chose to proceed by legal means, a percentage that reaches as much as 23.5% in the regions of Northern Italy. In 14.5% of cases the missing rent was withheld directly from the security deposit, in 13% the insurance policy against tenants’ arrears was used and in 7.6% the bank guarantee. 51% of the situations have been resolved and the tenant, once in arrears, still lives in the property, in 22.1% of cases the owner has declared that he is waiting for the tenant to be evicted or that, in any case, vacate the apartment.