Builders’ feedback to Conte following the latest failure of the tenders for the Housing Plan. Figures to be reviewed

Two clues do not constitute proof, but they are sufficient to reinforce the concerns already expressed in recent months by Milanese business owners regarding the council’s housing plan. The three calls for tenders concerning the former Palasharp, San Romanello and Bovisasca sites on 26 August received no bids, repeating the result seen in June: Palazzo Marino immediately announced a further extension to 26 October with the aim of allowing more time for interested companies. A welcome move for the construction sector, but not enough to alter the view that the plan is deemed inadequate. Aspesi chairman Filippo Oriana explains: “Costs remain high; the high cost of energy and raw materials is a burden. We are interested in the council’s proposal because housing development is one of our key priorities and a necessity for a city that is in desperate need of housing, but if these are the conditions for building, we do not see it as being in our interests.” To reignite interest, it is urgent to introduce further measures: “On land owned by the council, higher rents need to be set and lease terms extended; action should also be taken on urbanisation charges and works eligible for tax relief, and perhaps adequate quotas for free-market housing should be provided: we are not asking for bonuses – this is already a difficult time – our aim is to ensure that we do not have to work outside the market”.

There are also serious concerns within Assimpredil Ance, which represents small and medium-sized enterprises. President Giovanni Deleo begins by stating that he is in agreement with the City Council regarding the desire to tackle the housing crisis with a plan that seeks to provide solutions, calling for strong involvement from the private sector, regenerating areas of the city, creating jobs and offering investment opportunities. This alignment breaks down when the details of the Plan are examined: “The restrictions imposed – says Deleo – are extremely limiting for the private sector, which therefore struggles to develop sustainable economic and financial models that also meet the bankability criteria required by any investor. We are closely monitoring the constant delays, which are justified by the in-depth analyses that operators are carrying out in an attempt to arrive at viable solutions”. But that is not all; there is the issue of timing, which casts uncertainty over the bureaucratic procedures: “At present, there is no dedicated technical procedure for the preparation and implementation of the call for proposals; the risk is that we will be left waiting for a response from the municipal technical department, which is already swamped with unprocessed applications.”

Essentially, according to the business community, the problem is easily resolved, so the calls for tenders – if not the entire Housing Plan itself – should be reviewed. This line of argument is deemed unacceptable by Emmanuel Conte, the councillor who, 18 months ago, launched the Plan (10,000 homes in 10 years), which, due to the investigations and the review of Bardelli’s old plan, only got underway in January 2026. Conte immediately clarifies a couple of points to Il Foglio: there is the utmost understanding for the difficulties faced by private individuals, so much so that they were involved in drafting the plan and the three calls for tenders were postponed precisely at the request of certain parties who asked for time to examine the issue in greater depth. The second point concerns the effectiveness of housing policies, which are based on various tools – not just calls for tenders – and require a long-term timeframe. On the substance of the matter, the councillor reiterates the merit of the work carried out: “The review of my predecessor’s work led us to assess the environmental impact of the projects and the costs of the remediation works, which the council has decided to cover up to a certain level, and to reduce the proportion of rent-controlled housing from 65 per cent to 60 per cent: in return, we are calling for an affordable rent, meaning no more than one-third of the tenant’s salary, with a limit of 90 euro per square metre”. The calls for tenders are just one part of the plan. The other initiatives concern social housing that will be put on the market, such as the development on Via Trivulzio, for which the tender closes on 11 September, and the acquisition of privately-owned housing stock, for which 50 million has already been allocated: “Each case must be assessed on its own merits; for example, for Porto di Mare – 140,000 square metres – we will hold a design competition: in Milan there are 100,000 empty flats across the public and private sectors, so there is an opportunity to give a major boost to housing.”