Rent Giveaways in Rome: A Jungle of Waste and Corruption

RENT APARTMENTS IN ROME –

For those who haven't figured it out, in Rome, municipal apartments are given away to friends of friends at rock-bottom prices. Or even for free . First of all, there's an army of squatters , approximately 9 tenants who live in homes and offices without contracts and occasionally pay the municipality a token compensation to avoid eviction. Then there are "their lords" who own luxury apartments in Borgo Pio (€10,29 a month), on Corso Vittorio Emanuele (€24,21 a month), or near the Imperial Forums overlooking the Roman excavations (€25,64). These homes cost ordinary citizens no less than thousands of euros a month at market prices.

LIST OF RENTALS IN ROME –

And again: still in Borgo Pio, in the heart of Vatican-related business, a bar pays 520 euros a month ; in San Salvatore in Lauro, right in the center, an art gallery has been in litigation with the municipal administration for years and, using this excuse, refuses to pay a cent; in the Esquilino district, municipal shops rent for 56 euros a month . Finally, political parties, associations, institutions, unions, and embassies: all on super-reduced rents, and all in arrears.

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RENT-A-HOUSE SCANDAL IN ROME –

The list of privileged individuals came to light when the city was placed under special administration, thanks to the complaint of Prefect Paolo Tronca . And obviously all the recent mayors, Marino, Veltroni, and Rutelli, have shied away from the scandal, saying they were unaware. Maybe. The fact is that we are witnessing a mass phenomenon, a double waste (uncollected funds and clientelism in favor of individuals), which has enjoyed total impunity and the complicity not only of politicians, but also of the usual municipal bureaucrats who hold the helm of the administration. A phenomenon that once again shows us how, unfortunately, Rome has become a capital that lives and thrives on illegality . Widespread, pervasive, and unpunished.

RENT-A-HOUSES IN ITALIAN CITIES –

It remains only to add that Rome is not alone in this trend . Cronyism in the management of the rich municipal housing stock is rampant throughout Italy. In Catania , 9 out of 10 tenants are being bitten; in Venice , municipal apartments in Piazza San Marco are rented for 76 euros a month; in Naples, the public housing agency collects an average of 13 euros and 58 cents in rent per month. No one has ever lifted a finger against this form of mass illegal construction , and today we find ourselves with a double Italy: a country that struggles to find housing for young people getting married, and a country that gives away its homes for free.

TO KNOW MORE: Rome: Corruption costs citizens $1,3 billion a year.