The story of Giuseppina Giugliano, the janitor who takes the Frecciarossa train to Naples every day to work at a school in Milan, has a huge following on social networks: her salary of 1,165 euros and a certain aptitude for finding discounts on the Internet, for her to commute at high speed. , cheaper than renting a house in the north. Prices are becoming out of reach, and those who can’t travel nine hours a day, like the concierge of Naples, are forced to downsize their living space. Goodbye studio apartments: Today we surrendered to a bed or up to one room in an apartment for six people to share, which can cost up to 915 euros per person per month. Or 1,040 if the room has a dishwasher, washing machine, concierge and bike parking. Our journalists Irene Fassini, Marialaura Iazzetti and Charlotte Matteini describe this in their research, published in Dossier, which comes up with a list of pitfalls to avoid.

As in provinces where faculties are located, prices fly faster in university districts. In fact, under these conditions, it becomes more difficult for families living far away to secure their children’s right to education and their future. But the same is more or less true for young couples. It is getting harder and harder for them to find a home where they can raise their children in a dignified environment. And if instead of rent there was the opportunity to take a loan from the bank, there is a risk of moving from niches to cottages.

A shed like a room of 18 square meters in a semi-abandoned residence, again in Milan, without kitchen and heating, for sale for 3,500 euros per mistress. Otherwise, you have to adapt to the old doorman of a Thirty building: 125 thousand euros for fifteen square meters, more than eight thousand three hundred euros per square meter. There is no kitchen, but the microwave and fridge are literally one step away from the toilet. Once inside, one wonders if there is still a municipal ordinance. And where is the police that he is supposed to check?

The same can be said for Rome, where a few years ago, around Piazza Navona, agencies offered a studio apartment at stratosphere prices: nothing strange, except that two floors, including the staircase, are less than twenty square meters. Added to all this is the growing competition from tourist rentals: a market attracted by platforms like Airbnb, where unscrupulous companies offer garages, basements and warehouses converted into lodgings, alongside apartments worthy of the name. Visitors and pilgrims from afar do not mind the penny and contribute to the price race. At the same time, inflation and rising energy costs are eroding wages. In Milan, the city with the highest average wages in Italy, 60 percent of taxpayers declared income of less than 25,000 euros per year in 2021. And for 30 percent it did not exceed 15,000 euros: an average of 1,250 per month. It’s little more than a niche rental with reserved bike space.

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