1 euro houses in Italy are back for 2023 and we've got all the details of the latest 1 euro homes for sale listings. On the website of the municipality of Sant'Elia a Pianisi, a small town of just 1,610 inhabitants in the province of Campobasso, 8 houses have been put up for sale at the symbolic cost of 1 euro. The procedure for acquiring the properties is streamlined, the price advantageous: but there are also charges for those who buy. idealista/news interviewed the mayor, Biagio Faiella.
Eight houses at one euro each. If I come to Sant'Elia a Pianisi with 8 euros do I get them all?
In theory that is the case. In reality you have to consider that there are very precise clauses to be respected: within six months of buying the house you have to submit a renovation project to the municipality, for example. And then you have the obligation to finish the work within the next three years.
I understand that the aim is to initiate the reorganisation and revaluing of the existing property stock. Tell us more.
Yes, but not only that. We are also trying to help the local economy, which is why we have assigned a score to the requests. If, for example, there are two buyers for the same building, whoever chooses to use local engineers and architects for the design has a higher score. If, likewise, the construction is carried out by local firms, there is an additional advantage. Another criterion we use is to give a higher score to those who undertake to finish the work sooner.
We've heard mention of a 5,000 euro security deposit. Is this true?
You have to make a surety bond to guarantee that actually that work will be done, so this is true. The cost is around 30 or 40 euros however.
We have heard of mayors who have had to chase the rightful owners of these 1 euro houses all the way to Australia. Is this the case in Sant'Elia?
This is not my case. These properties belong to people from Sant'Elia: some of them belonged to the parents of the current owners and, as they live in other houses, they had become nothing but a burden and they entrusted them to the municipality for inclusion in this project.
What is the state of the 8 properties you are proposing for sale for 1 euro?
Some are dilapidated, but a couple are in good condition, although in need of work.
Are there planning restrictions for reconstruction? If I buy one of these houses, can I turn it into - for example - a glass building in the historic centre?
Sant'Elia for now unfortunately has no constraints of any kind from this point of view: the town plan dates back to the 1970s.
What kind of bureaucracy do I face if I embark on such a project?
You have to apply on our website. The application will be reviewed and the buyer will be contacted, at which point the notary will organise the deed with the seller. Then you have to sign the contract with the municipality in which you agree to the conditions on the completion time. And then the normal steps of a renovation. All of the details of the rules for buying a 1 euro house in the village can be found in the guidelines on the website.
Have any applications already arrived at the municipality?
About 20 of them. People phone me every day, even from the United States and Canada.
People against the initiative say that old villages in Italy will end up filled with foreigners and, in some way, they will be distorted. What is your response to this?
Everyone is leaving the area: in small towns, unfortunately, this is the case. In 2014 there were 2004 people in Sant'Elia, today there are 1680. Those who buy houses for one euro come to revive ruins for the securing of which in many cases the municipality also has to invest its own money. I would say that these people are very welcome.