Lucrezia Ciotti At 94, she risks losing the home she's lived in since the 1960s due to a rent increase from €450 to €1.200 a month. This is the story of Franca, an elderly widow living in northern Florence , who could face eviction in February due to her lease expiring. Her daughter has turned to the tenants' union Sunia, while Mayor Sara Funaro has called the situation "totally unacceptable," promising to intervene to find a solution and prevent her from having to leave her home.
Florence: A 94-year-old man faces eviction after more than 60 years in the same home, with rent ranging from €450 to €1.200.
Franca is 94 years old and has lived in a 70-square-meter apartment in northern Florence for over six decades . A house that represents much more than a home: she has spent much of her life within those walls, first with her husband and then alone after becoming a widow.
Dopo il passaggio dell’immobile agli eredi del precedente proprietario, il monthly fee has been increased from 450 to 1.200 euros, an unsustainable amount for the pensioner. If an agreement is not reached, it could start in February lo eviction due to lease termination, alla scadenza dell’ultimo contratto biennale. «I haven't told my mother yet, otherwise she would die.", his daughter confided to Florentine courier, explaining that he wanted to spare her, at least for now, news that could have serious consequences on her balance.
«As long as the old owner was there we never had any problems.», ha raccontato la figlia, ricordando come l’appartamento fosse rimasto a un prezzo accessibile grazie ai contratti a equo canone, anche mentre i costi delle abitazioni a Firenze aumentavano. La situazione sarebbe cambiata dopo la morte dell’imprenditore e il passaggio del patrimonio immobiliare ai nipoti. La figlia ha riferito di aver ricevuto una telefonata con la comunicazione del mancato rinnovo alle precedenti condizioni e della richiesta di 1.200 euro mensili per continuare a vivere nell’alloggio.
This sum is beyond Franca's reach, as she receives a minimal pension and her husband's survivor's benefits. " If she had to pay €1.200 in rent, she would have practically nothing left to live on, not even to eat ," she explained, also emphasizing the lack of discussion with the owner. " We could even afford a small increase; I could help her. But going from €450 to €1.200 is another matter ." The family didn't rule out a rent increase, but they wanted to find a solution through negotiation: " It's an impossible figure ."
Mayor Sara Funaro's appeal: "This is a totally unacceptable situation."
As reported by Florentine Courier, to make it even more delicate each other these are the health conditions of the elderly woman. Franca is invalid, is almost blind, si sposta con un deambulatore e trascorre gran parte del tempo nella propria abitazione, tra televisione e parole crociate. Vive sola e può contare soprattutto sulla figlia, che abita nelle vicinanze e cerca di assisterla il più possibile. Per questo la figlia si è rivolta al sindacato degli inquilini Sunia. Se non si raggiungerà un’intesa entro la scadenza contrattuale, la questione potrebbe arrivare davanti a un giudice.
Florence Mayor Sara Funaro also weighed in on the story , expressing solidarity with the elderly woman and promising to take action to prevent her eviction. " This is a totally unacceptable situation ," she declared in a statement, calling it intolerable that a 94-year-old woman with serious health problems, who has lived in the same apartment for over sixty years, risks losing her home. She announced her intention to engage directly with the owner: " We will do everything we can to protect her ." Funaro clarified that the City is ready to intervene with the tools at its disposal, noting that Franca already receives rent assistance, but emphasized that the case raises an issue that goes beyond financial assistance. " Faced with a story like this, one wonders whether humanity has been completely lost ," she stated, urging everyone to consider the consequences of such a decision on such a vulnerable person. The goal, he concluded, is to reach an agreement before the eviction proceedings can begin: " We need to talk and find a solution, so that this situation can be stopped before the eviction for lease termination can begin ."
Franca's story recalls that of Maricarmen Abascal , the 87-year-old Spanish woman evicted from the Madrid home where she had lived for nearly seventy years after a steep rent increase. Meanwhile, in Florence, the hope is that dialogue with the owner will spare Franca, at 94 and in poor health, the trauma of having to leave the place where she has lived most of her life.