Italy: The EIB and Roma Capitale sign an advisory agreement to develop affordable housing

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• Free EIB technical assistance to support Roma Capitale’s Social Residential Housing Plan (ERS)
• The agreement aims to identify and create the conditions to structure an Affordable Housing Fund in order to increase the supply of housing with sustainable rents.
• Focus on “grey area” families and on sustainable and urban regeneration projects

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Roma Capitale have signed an advisory agreement to support the development of the city’s Social Residential Housing Plan (ERS). The agreement was signed at the Campidoglio by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri.

The EIB’s advisory activity, provided free of charge, will support Roma Capitale in defining and structuring an Affordable Housing Fund, with the aim of increasing the supply of housing with sustainable rents for families that do not meet the criteria for public housing but face difficulties accessing the private rental market. The initiative aims to identify a balanced, efficient and sustainable financing structure, also through the involvement of the private sector and institutional investors.

“With this agreement we confirm the EIB’s commitment to supporting European cities in addressing one of the most urgent social challenges: access to housing,” said Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President. “Through our technical assistance, which is free of charge for Public Administrations, we provide specialised expertise to help Roma Capitale develop an innovative and sustainable model of affordable housing, capable of attracting investment and generating concrete impact for families and the territory, in line with the European Union’s priorities in terms of social cohesion, sustainability and climate transition.”

Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome, commented: “I would like to thank the EIB for this collaboration, which will enable us to move towards the implementation and then the establishment of a public-private financial vehicle for social housing. A tool for the acquisition, regeneration and construction of all the different types of housing for the so-called grey segment. Therefore not public residential housing, but market housing with an accessible rent, to help address a major challenge of our time in all large cities, not only in Rome but across Europe; that of affordable housing. We have a very large ERS need, a segment of around 30 thousand housing units that do not fall within the scope of ERP. We will use these instruments and the EIB’s support for the design of the structure and its various aspects: legal form, governance, financial model and economic-financial sustainability. Finding a balance between private and public components is very important, and in this the EIB has consolidated experience, therefore making use of top-level support represents an excellent opportunity for us.”

The technical assistance will accompany the Municipality in assessing the objectives and constraints of the ERS Plan, in defining the governance of the Affordable Housing Fund and the optimal role of the public-private partnership. The activity also includes an in-depth analysis of the regulatory and strategic context, the technical, financial and legal structuring of the Fund, and support in preparing the operational phases of the plan, including the definition of a project pipeline and the carrying out of a market sounding with potential partners and investors.

Tobia Zevi, Councillor for Assets and Housing Policies at Roma Capitale, added: “The agreement with the EIB represents a strategic step for Roma Capitale’s housing policies and for the development of the Social Housing Agency. The prospect of building an Affordable Housing Fund responds to an increasingly evident need, namely that of supporting the segment of citizens who do not meet the requirements to access public housing but, at the same time, can no longer afford the costs of the private market. We are talking about young people seeking independence, students and workers away from home, single-income families and workers who are currently squeezed between insufficient incomes and ever-increasing rents. The collaboration with the EIB will enable us to design the technical and financial instruments needed to expand the supply of housing with sustainable rents, attract new investments and strengthen our policies to respond to the social and economic changes affecting the city.”

The assignment will also include the financial modelling of the different available options – including possible public contributions, guarantees or rental support instruments if necessary – to ensure the economic sustainability and bankability of the initiative, as well as the analysis of implications in terms of public accounting and State aid. All strategic and operational choices related to policies and investments for social housing remain in any case entirely the responsibility of the public decision-maker.

Roma Capitale is a long-standing EIB partner: since 1983 the Bank has supported numerous investments in the city, including the development of metro lines B1 and C, the renewal of rolling stock, the strengthening of public transport and interventions in the waste sector, for a total of around €1.7 billion in financing that have contributed to mobilising total investments of over €7 billion.

With this new agreement, a further phase of cooperation between the EIB and the Municipality of Rome begins, with a focus on affordable housing and sustainable urban regeneration. The city’s plan aims to combine the objective of housing affordability with energy efficiency measures and environmental sustainability, in line with the objectives of the European mission for climate-neutral cities, of which Rome is part.

The initiative forms part of the EIB’s strategic priorities in the housing sector and contributes to the implementation of the European Affordable Housing Plan, which envisages, among other things, the financing of housing projects for EUR 6 billion in 2026. Advisory activities represent a key tool to ensure that projects are prepared with technical rigour and solid economic and financial foundations, thus facilitating their implementation and their capacity to attract capital.