The University of Parma is one of the founding members of the Parma Housing Centre, a public participation foundation promoted and established with the Municipality of Parma, the Parma University Hospital, the Parma Local Health Authority, the Parma Social Services Agency and ACER Parma as part of the municipal programme “Fa” la casa giusta!’ (Make the right home!).

The Foundation aims to promote innovative solutions for affordable rental housing. This is a concrete action to respond to the growing difficulty of finding affordable rental housing for essential service workers, young families, and new employees.

Mayor Michele Guerra emphasised: “The establishment of the ‘Parma Housing Centre’ is important because it not only concerns the restoration, regeneration and expansion of the 500 homes that the municipality has worked on in recent years, but also the possibility of finding other homes, which are currently empty, and making them available at controlled rents to those who are struggling to find a home. We are thinking of those groups of workers who come to Parma: nurses, local public transport drivers and the many categories who struggle to find housing in the city. 

By contacting this Foundation, they will be able to match their demand with a fair offer. ‘Fa’ la Casa Giusta’ wants housing to be fair, meaning that it should meet the needs of people who are in dire need, but also those of the middle class, which has gradually become impoverished and now, despite having a job and a family to support, struggles to live in a city like this where rents have reached unsustainable prices, as in many other cities in northern Italy. This is an innovative tool that involves various entities. We believe that it can also serve as an example for other entities, not only in this area, to ensure that the housing emergency is finally addressed in a comprehensive manner.”

Paolo Martelli, Rector of the University of Parma observed:  “The housing problem is a critical issue for many young people who decide to move to our city for their education and personal growth. Economic difficulties and tensions in the property market risk undermining the principles of fairness and inclusion in our university system. The Foundation is not only an operational tool but also a sign of a community that cares for young people: a shared commitment between institutions, public and private bodies and all stakeholders in the area, in a systemic approach that is the only effective model for addressing issues such as these. As a university, we continue our commitment as promoters and institutional interlocutors of solutions that respond to the needs of our students, ensuring that no one is left behind.”

Integrated action for the right to housing
The Foundation will play a central role in the implementation of the “Patto per la Casa” (Housing Pact) programme, promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region, which aims to encourage the identification and placing on the market of new affordable housing, using existing private buildings that are currently unused. At the same time, it intends to support and assist families with rental costs and encourage landlords to make their properties available, through significant public guarantee funds (up to €10,000 per property, including minor maintenance work). The selection criteria for tenants include the requirement of income from permanent employment in cases of serious difficulty in finding affordable rents in the city.

The Foundation will be able to operate in various ways, ensuring constant support for the parties involved, in particular thanks to the “secure rent” solution, which provides, on the one hand, a direct and guaranteed contract with a fixed rent between the landlords and the Foundation and, on the other, a second sublease contract between the Foundation and the tenants, protected by public funds.

The Foundation is therefore a strategic tool for implementing the “Fa” la casa giusta!’ (Make the right home!) Plan to intercept a portion of private housing that is currently vacant, underutilised or used for tourism, in order to rent it at agreed rents to individuals and families, guaranteeing significant direct public incentives to private landlords and management advantages.