San Marino. Social Housing, the Secretariat of State: “19 conventions have already been activated in this legislature”
“The Secretary of State for Tourism, with responsibility for Cooperation, Federico Pedini Amati, together with the President of the Commission for the Management of Residential Construction and a member of the staff of the Secretariat of State as contact person for the Cooperation sector Sara Toccaceli, spoke this morning at a press conference for a balance sheet on cooperation issues, specifically, social housing, subsidized housing and cooperatives”.
A press release from the State Secretariat for Tourism and Cooperation.
“The Secretary of State explained how the Covid-19 health emergency and the economic situation deriving from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict together with the increase in the cost of living and energy, have contributed to aggravating the socio-economic conditions of many families San Marino citizens, in particular of those who are already living in situations of hardship.
Particular attention has been given to the delegation for Cooperation since the beginning of the Legislature, the numbers presented at the press conference indicate a marked sensitivity for helping families in difficulty who require the assistance of institutions to support their situation.
There are currently 57 social housing agreements in place (in which 125 people live), 19 of which have been activated from 2020 to today. The procedures for assigning an additional housing unit are in progress and will be completed shortly. An additional 34 requests for housing from households ranging from 1 to 8 members remain pending.
To respond to the needs of those still waiting for accommodation, the Secretariat of State for Tourism has given impetus to the Autonomous State Company for Public Works to complete the 7 apartments owned by the Most Excellent Chamber located in Strada Spolantini in Fiorentino which have been in a “raw” state since 2003. The first two units of this nucleus will be completed quickly together with a renovation work on the outside of the building aimed at energy efficiency. In this regard, the Secretary of State for Tourism wanted to thank the AASLP and its Director, Eng. Giuliana Baruli. Part of the costs of the completion works on the building will be supported by an allocation of €105,642 from the Cooperation Development Fund thanks to the favorable opinion of the members appointed to represent the cooperatives and with a majority resolution of the Cooperation Commission chaired by the Secretary of State. A further €5,100 was donated by International Games Trade SpA, the result of projects related to the Monopoly of San Marino.
The hope is that further housing units can be found through the recovery action of the housing currently assigned to families who no longer possess the necessary requisites for maintaining the assignment. In this regard, the State Congress and the Commission for the Management of Residential Construction, each for its own competence, have resolved in the current year the forfeiture of the assignments of housing in social housing to 15 subjects. This is because, following the annual verification, it was determined by the subjects in question that some of the requirements established by law did not continue to exist. In particular, it was found that the per capita income limit indicated by the law was exceeded (which corresponds to 15,493 euros, calculated on the basis of tax returns net of liabilities), and, in a single case, the non-permanent home emerged of the accommodation. The subjects in question were granted a period of six months for the return of the lodgings, one has already returned to the availability of the Most Excellent Chamber.
In addition, executive proceedings are underway on 10 properties subject to liens. for non-fulfilment of the loan pursuant to Law 15 December 1994 n. 110 for which the Most Excellent Chamber, as guarantor of the loans, proceeded with the payment of the sums relating to the subsidized loans in favor of the banks. The Secretariat of State for Tourism with responsibility for Cooperation is carefully evaluating the possibility of a possible request for assignment of the same properties by the Most Excellent Chamber in order to recover the claimed credits. The absence of homes owned by the Most Excellent Chamber does not make it easier for San Marino families to respond.
The direct relationship between the Secretariat of State, the offices and institutions competent in the field of social housing, the families assigned housing and those applying for housing, have led to the knowledge of situations of not only economic but also social hardship and of health. In response to this problem, on 22 November 2022, the Secretariat of State for Tourism with the collaboration of the Secretariat of State for Health, set up a permanent Technical Table aimed at coordinating and managing relations on social housing with the objective of creating coordination between the institutions and offices competent in the field of social housing and guaranteeing the right degree of assistance to applicants and assignees of social housing. The Technical Table includes a representative of the Secretariat of State for Tourism, Post Offices, Cooperation and Expo; a representative of the Secretariat of State for Health and Social Security, Welfare and Social Affairs; a representative of the UOC Mental Health Service; a representative of the UOC Minor Service a representative of the UOSD Disability and Residential Assistance; a representative of the Territorial Domiciliary UOC; a representative of the Equal Opportunity Authority and a representative of the State Accounting – Social and Residential Building Section”.
Federico Pedini Amati (Secretary of State for Tourism, the Post Office, Cooperation and the Expo): “Social housing is a delicate issue because it involves families and individuals who are in conditions of economic difficulty and, as we have seen, unfortunately, not only economic. I immediately wanted to take care of these problems personally and through the Secretariat of State and although I have not yet managed to give all the applicants the answers we would like to dare, the numbers tell us that we have been able to assist many San Marino families in difficulty by assigning , in this legislature, 19 new lodgings compared to the 2 assigned by the previous government. We have also activated all those initiatives useful for enforcing the law and for returning to our availability houses currently in use by subjects who do not meet the minimum requirements to be able to have them. A choice of respect for the law that falls within our duties. I also consider myself particularly proud to have activated, together with a series of subjects interested in the problem, the permanent Technical Table for the management of social housing with the aim of finding solutions to those situations in which economic problems are added to social or of health”.
Sara Toccaceli (President of the Commission for the Management of Residential Construction and member of the staff of the Secretariat of State as contact person for the Cooperation sector): “As contact person of the Secretariat of State for Tourism with Delegation for Cooperation and President of the Commission for the Management of Residential Buildings, I thank the Secretary of State for the tenacity and sensitivity shown every day towards the social housing sector and for the numerous interventions implemented during the last year. I would also like to thank the State Accounting Bureau of Social and Residential Housing Section, all the Commissioners of the Housing Management Commission and the members of the Commission for Cooperation, for the great support and professionalism they have shown right from the start against the Secretariat of State”.