Turin City Council approves new housing rights plan

The Turin City Council has approved a package of new measures on the right to housing, following months of debate and a citizens’ initiative proposal.
The vote, held on 29 September 2025, passed with 22 in favour — including M5S, the Democratic Party (PD), Sinistra Ecologista and Torino Domani — and 8 against from Forza Italia, Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Torino Bellissima, +Europa and Radicali Italiani.

Key changes to the original plan

Several amendments reshaped the proposal before its approval. Council members Claudio Cerrato (PD) and Sara Diena (Sinistra Ecologista) successfully removed:

• the possibility of requisitioning privately owned properties left unjustifiably abandoned by large landlords;
• The creation of a citywide census of public and private buildings to track unused housing.

The resolution’s title was also revised. It now reads:

“New measures for the right to housing and living – assessment and reuse of vacant or unused dwellings.”

What the approved plan does

The final measure instructs Mayor Stefano Lo Russo and the city administration to:

• Pause the sale of public housing (Edilizia Residenziale Pubblica – ERP) in Turin through a temporary moratorium;
• Continue mapping public real estate to help address the housing emergency.
• Carry out a rapid assessment of unused public and private homes and work with owners to bring them back to the rental market at affordable, regulated rates.

To support this, the council calls for strengthening the city’s housing agency Locare, adding staff and funding so it can help reintroduce empty homes — especially those owned by large landlords — into the market with public guarantees for affordable rents.

The resolution also asks that the upcoming new municipal building code include tools to discourage long-term vacancy, aiming to reduce the number of properties left empty without justification.