85 per cent of city properties in Rome centre not paying rent.

Rome is owed €357 million in unpaid rent, accumulated over the years, from the city's 28,000 residential and commercial properties, according to a report released on 21 March.

The findings reveal that about 85 per cent of tenants of 574 city-owned apartments and shops in the historic centre are not paying their rent, losing the city around €4.5 million annually.

The report unearthed monthly rents of just €5.18 in the central Campo de' Fiori district as well as discovering a commercial property whose income was more than €1 million but whose rent was only €380 per month. The findings also included several properties which did not appear anywhere on city records.

The report into anomalies in Rome’s social housing sector is part of an investigation requested by the city’s commissioner Francesco Paolo Tronca, following a scandal over bogus city rents which hit the headlines in February.

Tronca says he hopes that a system to monitor all of the city's rental situations can be up and running ahead of June's mayoral elections.