It’s becoming easier and easier to bag that pretty little house in the Italian hills. We reported last week that the village of Sambuca di Sicilia is the latest destination to auction off houses for as little as €3, but now there’s a very affordable option on mainland Italy.
Specifically, in Tuscany! That’s right – this sought-after region, characterised by scenic vineyards and mediaeval towns in northern Italy, has just announced a new scheme which could pay you up to €30,000 to move there.
Property in Tuscany is typically a bit spenny, so why have the regional authorities done this? Well, plenty of hilltop villages are faced with dwindling populations as young people have moved away to find jobs in cities. On top of this population crisis, many communities just don’t know how to manage the sheer number of abandoned homes.
A handful of Italian destinations have successfully auctioned off houses for just a couple of euros, but Tuscany is doing things a little differently. The authorities have come up with a scheme called ‘Residenzialità in Montagna 2024’ (‘Residency in the Mountains 2024’), where you could receive between €10,000-30,000 if you buy a house. Sounds pretty dreamy, doesn’t it?
‘[The Tuscan mountains] are territories of unique beauty with villages to be rediscovered which, however, suffer from depopulation,’ Stefania Sccardi, Tuscany’s regional vice president, told euronews, ‘Deciding to live in one of these municipalities is therefore a challenge and an opportunity, especially for young people, and the chance for a new life choice.’
So, what’s the catch? Firstly, the money you receive cannot exceed 50 percent of the cost of your house and its renovation. Where you buy is also very important – it must be deemed a mountain town and have no more than 5,000 inhabitants. But there are plenty of options to choose from in Tuscany.
Applicants must also be EU citizens or hold a residence permit lasting at least 10 years and be registered as a resident in an Italian town that is not a mountain community.
So, there are a few things to bear in mind, but if all that applies to you, go ahead and apply on the Tuscany Region website by 1pm CET on July 27 – those rolling hills are waiting for you.
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