Public-Private Partnership for University Housing: early consideration on tools and opportunities

Legislative Decree No. 36 of 31 March 2023 introduced a significant streamlining and simplification of the regulatory framework governing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). In order to pursue a public interest, the private entity takes responsibility for the funding, implementation, and management of the project, as well as operational risks, while the public sector reserves the right to define the objectives and verify their implementation. PPPs emerge as a more efficient and attractive tool for the development of public infrastructure and services, including University Student Residences (USRs). In Italy, fewer than 5% of university students have had access to USRs, a proportion far below the European average. Given a steadily growing student population now nearly two million, the current supply of student accommodation meets less than one-fifth of total demand despite the adoption of Law No. 338/2000, the first comprehensive intervention aimed at co-financing the construction of dedicated facilities. Forms of PPP, already tested in RSUs, now find new opportunities thanks to a clearer, more flexible regulatory framework focused on collaboration. Additionally, the Italian public real estate heritage, often of historical and artistic significance but unused or underutilized, constitutes a strategic resource for its functional conversion to student housing. Within this framework, the present contribution aims to initiate an exploratory reflection on the potential of public-private collaboration models for enhancing university housing provision, through the valorisation of existing buildings, the involvement of private entities in rehabilitation and management processes, and the more efficient allocation of available resources.