«The analysis published by Sole 24 Ore tells of a profound transformation of the rental market: in the large Italian cities the ordinary “4+4” contract is losing ground, while rentals with agreed rent and transitional ones are growing. This is not a technical detail for professionals. It is a sign that owners and tenants are looking for more flexible, sustainable formulas suited to changing housing demand. According to data recalled by the newspaper, in the eight major cities the “4+4″ now represents just over a third of new rentals. On the other hand, contracts with agreed rent are growing, favored by the 10% coupon, IMU discounts and the search for a balance between feasible rents and convenience for the landlord”. This was stated in a note by the president of Confedilizia Calabria, lawyer. Sandro Scoppa.
The rental market between flexibility and adaptation
«The data – according to Scoppa – must be read without prejudice. It does not demonstrate the failure of private rental, but the market’s ability to adapt. Families with more compressed incomes, students, mobile workers, young professionals, prudent owners and very different properties cannot be reduced to a single contractual scheme. The market is looking for solutions. When politics blocks it, supply shrinks; when, however, the contractual instruments are flexible, fiscally convenient and in line with reality, the houses can return to regular rental.”
Territorial agreements: a light frame, not a cage
«Here – according to Scoppa’s analysis – the issue of territorial agreements comes into play. The agreed fee can be useful, but only under one condition: it must never transform into a managed market. It is not liberalization in the full sense and should not even be idealized. It only works if a broad and light legal framework remains, capable of facilitating the meeting between owner and tenant. If, however, it claims to establish the value of the properties from above and ignore the area, quality, demand, services and concrete conditions of the home, it changes its nature: it does not accompany the market, it compresses it. For this reason the oscillation bands must be very wide. Landlord and tenant should not be hindered in reaching an agreement. On the contrary, they must be able to negotiate within a clear framework, access the benefits provided by law and conclude a regular contract without being imprisoned by narrow tables or abstract parameters. Which is to say that if the territorial agreement becomes a cage, it produces the opposite effect: fewer contracts, fewer properties available, more distrust towards leasing.»
The Catanzaro case and the mapping update
«The case of Catanzaro fits into this national framework – highlighted Scoppa. The 2021 Territorial Agreement, signed by Confedilizia Catanzaro with the tenants’ organisations, had already given the city an orderly framework for agreed rent contracts. The 2025 supplementary appendix, again promoted and signed by the same historic and representative real estate association, took a further step: it updated that system to the new Omi zoning of the Revenue Agency, preventing outdated values and classifications from continuing to influence the contracts. Staying still would have meant reading a changed territory with an old map. Catanzaro, in fact, is not a uniform block. City centre, historic centre, Catanzaro Lido, seafront, semi-central neighbourhoods, university areas, peripheral areas, rural territories and business areas do not express the same value. A waterfront apartment is not the same as an isolated property; a renovated house, served by a lift, fibre, heating and parking space cannot be treated as accommodation without requirements; a home close to schools, offices, transport and services offers different benefits compared to one located in a less served context.
Enhance the quality of the properties to protect the parties
«The value of the appendix – continued Scoppa – lies here: it does not rigidify the agreement, but makes it more capable of absorbing these differences. Areas, quality of properties, equipment, appliances, furnishings, accessibility, energy efficiency and services are not secondary details, they instead represent decisive information. In this sense, logic is closer to catallaxy: not a value imposed from above, but a framework that collects dispersed data and allows the parties to find a balance. This is the point to be clearly defended. A broad settlement is not a favor to the owners. It is a guarantee for the market. If the landlord finds reasonable conditions, he will be more willing to rent. If the tenant finds a clear, registered and fiscally organized contract, he will have greater protection. If both can move within realistic ranges, agreement arises more easily. The rule must help the contract, not prevent it.
After all, a well-kept property does not arise on its own. It requires maintenance, investments, efficient systems, safety, accessibility, adequate furnishings. If these elements are not recognized, the message is clear: improving a home is not worth it. A serious territorial agreement must instead enhance the best properties, because only in this way can a regular, well-kept and stable housing offer grow”.
The fiscal lever and the objective of liberalization
Scoppa then also analyzes the tax issue. «The state reduction of 25% of the IMU on agreed-fee contracts – highlighted Scoppa – goes in the right direction, but it is not enough. The first step should be the elimination of the IMU on properties rented with this formula; the next, more ambitious step, a progressive liberalization of the rental market. A rented house is not a fixed asset: it hosts people, produces declared income, generates registered contracts and responds to a real need without new public apparatus. The supply crisis also arises from the fact that too many owners consider renting a risk rather than an opportunity. To reverse the trend, new commands are not needed, but contractual freedom, legal certainty, sustainable taxation and rapid protection of property. Territorial agreements can have a useful function only if they remain orientation tools, not market surrogates. When tables, trade union apparatus or administrative criteria claim to decide the value of a home, the result is not greater balance, but less supply.
A message of simplification from the Calabrian capital
This is why «a clear message can therefore be sent from the capital of the Calabria region: territorial agreements are useful if they open up possibilities, not if they close them off. They must accompany supply and demand, not replace them. They must allow owners and tenants to enjoy the benefits provided by law without turning negotiation into an obstacle course. The direction – concluded Scoppa – should be simple: liberalize, simplify, reduce the tax burden and make renting convenient. To help those looking for a home, the first step is not to discourage those who might offer it.”