Milan Eviction Law Extended
The COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation in Italy a crisis to be reckoned with. Amid this context the government enacted a number of measures, including the extension of a law that had suspended evictions until 30 June 2020.
The newest addition to this list of measures was the extension of the same law for a further two years, until 31 December 2020. Despite the fact that these measures are intended to support people in the current emergency, many are questioning their illegitimacy.
A look at the evictions being carried out in the city of Milan, which is undergoing one of its most severe housing shortages in recent history, revealed an extensive array of procedures and a large swathe of the population that is simply unable to keep up with the rent hikes being forced on them.
Milan Eviction Law Extended – Are Evictions Legitimate?
While some evictions are carried out in a fairly standard manner (such as for non-payment of rent or a lease expiration), the majority is performed by bailiffs who have been known to make use of the latest in technological advancements.
As a result of this, those who find themselves the lucky ones are usually able to negotiate their way out of the sticky situation by the time they get to the chopping block (i.e. the court).
However, this is not to say that those who are being pushed out are not in for an unwelcome surprise. While a lot of these evictions are a case of sheer bad luck and no real inclination on the part of the landlord, it is also true that a great deal of the housing jubilance that is currently going on in the city is the result of a combination of market forces and neoliberal policies that have been implemented by the ruling government since 2008. The most recent of these policies is that relating to a new law that allows the suspension of evictions for certain vulnerable situations.