The housing emergency around Lake Garda continues to escalate, with a significant increase in requests for the few available public housing units. In the territory of Area 11, which includes 22 municipalities and approximately 130,000 residents, the situation is becoming increasingly critical. According to preliminary data from the 2024 call for Public Housing Services (SAP), the demand for public housing far exceeds the supply, highlighting a housing crisis that has persisted for years. Sirmione is identified as the municipality facing the greatest difficulties in accessing the real estate market, followed by Desenzano, Salò, Manerba, and Padenghe, where rents are continuously rising.
In Desenzano del Garda, the municipality most affected by the housing emergency, 425 applications have been submitted for only 8 available units, including 6 municipal and 2 Aler properties. This results in an average of over 50 requests for each available apartment, well above the already high provincial average. Similar situations are recorded in other municipalities: in Salò, there are 67 applications for 4 units, and in Lonato, there are 65 requests for a single housing unit. The call closed at the end of June with a total limited availability of only 33 apartments, further confirming the deterioration of the situation compared to the previous year. The Area 11 Plan has officially recognized the housing emergency, classifying Desenzano in the “red zone” for housing needs, with other municipalities in the orange and yellow zones.
