Social Housing
The issue
As housing needs and access to housing are themes of ever-growing importance for people, institutions and not least market players, housing is front and center both in the public debate and on the political agenda of every member state in Europe, including Italy.
Against a tapestry of different local environments, there has been relative convergence on the need to provide affordable housing solutions to clearly identified population groups who are socially or economically disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable or temporarily in distress, through social housing.
Social housing has long been one of the most dynamic areas in terms of architectural, financial and social experimentation and over time has come to encompass not just the supply of housing stock but also actions, tools, and services for those who cannot find a solution to their needs on the market due to either the lack of adequate supply or economic and social reasons.
Fondazione Cariplo’s strategy: a variety of tools
As far back as 1999, Fondazione Cariplo decided to tackle social housing needs with steadfast determination and has done so through various calls for proposals engaging nonprofits and aimed at increasing social housing supply as well as temporary support services for vulnerable people.
Under those calls over the last twenty years Fondazione Cariplo has supported over 340 projects with nearly €65 million grants, and testing new models of housing welfare is still one of its key priorities as set out in its current strategic plan (social housing: promoting social housing, welfare and urban regeneration).
In addition, in 2004, Fondazione Cariplo made the decision to tackle the housing issue in a more systematic way. So, together and with the support of the Lombardy Regional Administration and the association representing Lombardy municipal governments, it created Fondazione Housing Sociale (FHS), a special purpose foundation promoting and bolstering the development of social housing. Today, FHS primarily operates as an entity that promotes social housing and as an advisor to the funds investing in social housing in Italy, assisting them in the design of the urban, architectural and social features of their projects as well as providing services to the communities of residents.
Fondazione Cariplo also spearheaded the launch in 2006 of the first Italian social housing fund, Abitare Sociale 1 Fund. That Fund provided a model that later inspired the creation of the National Social Housing Investment Fund (Fondo Nazionale Investimenti per l’Abitare) which is managed by CDP Immobiliare SGR and has spawned an integrated system of funds (SIF - Sistema Integrato di Fondi di Housing Sociale) investing in social housing developments across Italy. With some 3 billion euros in investments from the CDP Group, banks, insurers, public and private sector social security and pension plan providers, banking foundations and other investors attracted by local development opportunities, SIF is today one of the world’s largest impact investing program that ever existed.
Lombardy is the Italian region that has experienced the largest expansion of social housing. With an overall investment capacity topping 1 billion euros, of which 600 million euros already invested, the Abitare Sociale 1 Fund (renamed Fondo Immobiliare di Lombardia – FIL) is now managed by REDO Sgr S.p.A., a benefit corporation that started operation in 2019 and has skills and capabilities also with respect to student housing and urban regeneration.
