(back) Access to private housing for undocumented migrants in Italy
Although not expressly forbidden, renting private
accommodation to overseas citizens without a permesso di soggiorno falls
into the area of the informal economy, due to the existence of certain
regulations. In particular, whoever hosts a foreign citizen is required to
notify the authorities of their presence; this means, obviously, that the making
a formal contract between an overseas citizen and the owner of the property
would make the owner liable to the sanctions for those who do not declare the
presence of an overseas person in their property, or alternatively, would
certainly make the overseas person liable to expulsion.[3]
As opposed to Belgium, it is generally a difficult
business to find housing in Italy, let alone for foreigners, due to the very
high prices. However the private market would still seem to be the most common
housing solution for undocumented migrants, to whom slumlords commonly rent a
bed in a room filled with other beds for 200 or 300euros, often not including
the cost to have a shower or recharge a mobile phone, for cooking or lighting.
Edda Pando from Todo Cambia considers
that these promiscuous slums (“the business of today”) destroy the identity
and privacy of individuals. They work hard long hours and rest in slums. These
owners aren’t necessarily Italians. They may also be foreigners with a
residence permit who have come from the same geographical region as their
tenants. By subletting bed-filled flats they are able to accumulate large
amounts of money.
Edda Pando has thought of denouncing owners but found
herself in a tied-hands situation: calling the police would lead to the closure
of the flat as well as the arrest of its inhabitants. Also she feels that
reactions from undocumented migrants on their housing situation are few due to a
generalized attitude of resignation. Many would seem to think that as
foreigners, they don’t have the right to ask things to the country they’re
in and must consider themselves lucky to have found a shared space.
Another context in which undocumented migrants live in
private housing is that of the numerous people (especially from Eastern Europe)
who care for the elderly and live in their home. The (informal) performing of
work can indeed also be a channel to acquire accommodation. This happens above
all for domestic workers and those who look after children and old people in the
house, where the employer’s home coincides with the place of work, often 24
hours a day. The practice of offering workers accommodation is also found in
some smaller industrial environments, or else in agriculture. Such arrangements,
even if on the one hand they offer a foreigner without a permesso di
soggiorno the advantage of accommodation, can also leave the foreigner more
open to “blackmail”, in that if they lose their job, they also lose their
accommodation.[4]
In
some cities (e.g. Verona) the “solution” found by the authorities to the
problem of overcrowding has been in the house-by-house checking of a specific
communal regulation which for reasons of security prohibited the use of a
property for accommodation if the number of square metres per person fell below
a certain limit: this has led to forced closures.[5]
[3] Favé, E., “Social and Economic Aspects of Living Conditions of Undocumented Migrants in Italy” in PICUM. Book of Solidarity (Volume II): Providing Assistance to Undocumented Migrants in France, Spain and Italy. Brussels: PICUM, 2003
[4] Favé, E., “Social and Economic Aspects of Living Conditions of Undocumented Migrants in Italy” in PICUM. Book of Solidarity (Volume II): Providing Assistance to Undocumented Migrants in France, Spain and Italy. Brussels: PICUM, 2003
5]
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