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A region in southern Italy is giving away 50 rent-free homes for 10 years to repopulate its rural areas.
The Calabria region has opened applications for the program to encourage residents to move to smaller municipalities.
The “Ripopola Calabria” initiative launched with 50 properties intended for Italians over 18 who have lived outside Calabria for at least three years.
Also eligible for the scheme are EU citizens and third-country nationals with residency in Italy.
Ripopola Calabria said that between 2011 and 2024, Calabria lost over 124,000 residents, equivalent to approximately 6.4 per cent of its population.
Data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics found that between 2019 and 2025, Southern Italy saw a net loss of 150,000 young Italian university graduates aged 25 to 34.
Participating municipalities include towns in Cosenza, Catanzaro, Crotone and Reggio Calabria.
However, the unused public houses – up to 140 square meters each – may require renovations to be habitable.
Homes will be renovated using an allocated €20 million euro fund sourced from the Calabria regional government’s 2021 to 2027 Development and Cohesion Plan (PSC).
A contract will not require tenants to pay rent so long as they remain living in the home.
The Ripopola Calabria website stipulates that “furnishings will not be included in the property renovation”.
Applications for the first batch of houses can be made online and are open until 18 December, and those interested can shortlist up to three properties from the catalogue.
Housing will then be assigned through a public ranking for each housing unit.
The programme awards specific points to families with children, single-parent families and young couples.
After the 10 years are up, people in the region may “adopt additional measures to encourage tenure beyond the established ten-year period”.
This could include a renewal of the loan agreement or a purchase at controlled prices, said Ripopola Calabria.
According to the initiative: “It’s a pact between those who choose to return or arrive, and the territories that preserve the villages’ identity.
“For this reason, the apartments are intended exclusively for residential use: they are designed to be lived in, not exploited or sublet.”
Read more: You can buy a €1 home in an historic Italian village