According to recently released figures, the cost of rents for housing in Italy has more than doubled since 1999. The study, which was carried out by Censis, Sunia and Cgil on a sample of 5,000 families living in rented premises, showed a 112 percent increase over an eight year period up to 2006. Rome and Florence emerged as the cities with the greatest rise in rents over the last 4 years, bringing the increase over the period studied up 128 percent.

The percentage of families living in rented housing in Italy has decreased from 20.3 percent in 2004 to 18.7 percent, indicating that increasing rent prices have created a situation where many families find it economically more feasible to purchase a property with monthly payments on long-term mortgages.

Rent-wise, Rome has now caught up with Milan; the average price quoted for renting a 100 sqm apartment in either city is calculated at