More than 50,000 homes in Italy are occupied by people with no right to be there. That is the figure from 2023 data collected by Federcasa, the housing body cited in an October 2024 report from Idealista. Of the total, 30,000 are public housing units and 20,000 belong to private owners.
The occupied public flats cannot go to the families waiting for social housing. Private owners cannot use, sell, transfer or rent what they own.
What Article 633 already said
Squatting was never legal. Article 633 of the Penal Code has long set a penalty of up to three years in prison, plus a fine of between 103 and 1,032 euros, for anyone who invades another person’s land or building.
The government decided that was not enough. It approved amendments to its security bill, known in Italian as the DDL sicurezza, that add a new offence to the Penal Code.
The new offence
Article 634-bis, introduced by Article 10 of the bill, targets illegal occupation of a property meant to be someone else’s home. It carries two to seven years in prison, depending on how serious the abuse is. It covers three kinds of conduct:
- occupying or holding a home without title through violence or threat, so the owner cannot return;
- taking over someone’s property or its appurtenances through deception or trickery;
- handing the occupied property on to others.
Prosecution is mandatory when the person affected cannot act for themselves because of age or infirmity. Occupation by several people, or with weapons, counts as an aggravating factor. A sentence can be reduced if the occupant leaves voluntarily within 30 days of the occupation or after a notice to vacate.
Faster evictions
Getting people out has been the harder part. After a judge issues an order, the wait for intervention has sometimes stretched out, and owners have waited with it.
The bill adds Article 321-bis to deal with that. It lets law enforcement move to clear an occupied property within 10 days of the judge’s indication.
When Idealista reported on it, the bill was not yet law. It still had to be discussed in the Senate, then signed by the President of the Republic and published in the Official Gazette.
What owners can do now
Until then, owners follow the existing route. They gather evidence of the occupation, such as photographs, video and statements from neighbours or other residents. Then they file a report with the Police, the Carabinieri or the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with as much detail as possible on when the occupation began and who the occupiers are.
A civil action can run alongside the investigation. Depending on the case, that means a claim action under Article 948 of the Civil Code to prove ownership, or an action under Article 1168 to recover possession. Idealista advises hiring a lawyer. A landlord whose tenant refuses to leave after the lease ends can ask the court for an executive eviction.
