A home for those who study

Once the rule has been made, and the deception has been found? Finally the students had the ability to raise the problem which is fundamentally political. In fact, the trade unions representing tenants and owners have often adopted the criteria to be applied for rental contracts for university students for the various Italian urban contexts. And this is a positive aspect because it means that the sense of the common good is the object of commitment of our representatives. However, we note that renting outside the norm to students is a fairly widespread practice.

The topic is political because the "student bed market" represents an advantageous rental opportunity for owners. It is a rental opportunity for short and renewable periods (together with arbnb proposals) that meets the owners' desires; it has become a possibility of unlimited speculation (beyond any reasonable market law). So it goes beyond the problem of the weaker segment. What will the government, the administrations, the unions do now with respect to the owners? The Italian Constitution contemplates a principle of great importance in the second paragraph of the art. 42 in which he states «Private property is recognized and guaranteed by the law, which determines the methods of acquisition, enjoyment and limits with the aim of ensuring the social function and making it accessible to all». The translation into law and concrete practices of the principle that private property is a recognized right provided that it fulfills a "social function" and is "accessible to all" would and would be enough to find the path that leads to carrying out the actions necessary to ensure the right to housing: this is the thought of many scholars. It would be absurd to practice other ways, such as helping students financially, when the problem instead concerns a bad interpretation of the free market. In recent days, many operators of social associations and cooperatives committed to finding housing solutions for families at risk of poverty (other than the poor) are wondering whether their action which offers owners a controlled rent (lower than the market one) is not anachronistic. in exchange for some advantages such as housing support and an insurance policy. Therefore, low-cost and highly responsible actions to make the housing arrangement possible and sustainable for those who couldn't make it. A solution model that heralds a territorial policy of participation and strengthening of the local community. Let's see if we will be able, even in the case of students, to find sustainable solutions without penalizing the owners without taking out money that our country does not have to satisfy the greed of speculators.


Gianfranco Cattai
NP June / July 2023