Back to school 2026: How the 'Caro Affitti' is driving students towards homestays in Milan and Rome

A 2026 academic year marked by student hardship in Italy

The 2026-2027 academic year is once again shaping up to be high-tension on the other side of the Alps. For thousands of young Italians and international students, the dream of studying at the peninsula's prestigious universities is hitting an increasingly impassable financial wall. At the heart of this storm is the caro affitti 2026, an expression now sadly famous in Italy for describing the uncontrollable surge in rents.

At Roomlala, we keep a close eye on European rental market dynamics every year to better support our community. In Italy, the situation has reached a tipping point. So-called fuorisede students (those studying far from their family home) are the primary victims of this systemic crisis. Faced with family budgets tightened by global inflation, finding a place to live has become a real struggle.

See also: Student housing crisis: Homestays facing the 2026 Italian rental price hike and Ontario rent increase 2026: Why renting out a room appeals to hosts

However, faced with this adversity, new forms of solidarity are emerging. As classic renting becomes a luxury, students are turning en masse towards more human and economical alternatives. In this article, we break down the mechanics of this student housing crisis in Italy and explain why a homestay is now the most sustainable and caring solution to address it.

Caro Affitti 2026: An autopsy of a student housing crisis in Italy

To understand the scale of the phenomenon, it is crucial to look beyond national averages. While some statistics show an overall drop in student rents of around 6.2% in 2026 across the country, this figure masks an extremely contrasting geographical reality. Small university towns are seeing prices stagnate or drop, but the major academic hubs continue to soar, worsening the university housing crisis.

Milan and Rome: The epicentre of unaffordable rents

Unsurprisingly, Milan retains its unenviable title as the most expensive city in Italy for students. For the start of the 2026 academic year, the average rent for a single room there is around 704 euros per month. A prohibitive rate that effectively excludes a large portion of students from the middle class, forcing them to either move drastically far from the city centre or give up on their studies in the Lombard capital.

The situation is hardly any better in the capital. In Rome, room prices have seen an alarming increase of 7% in just one year. The average is now 615 euros per month. Even worse, property listings sometimes border on the indecent: near the famous La Sapienza University, it is not rare to see offers exceeding 1,200 euros for a simple room. These stratospheric prices turn the search for shared housing in Rome into a real nightmare for families.

These increases are not mere statistical anomalies; they reflect a total disconnect between traditional property supply and the real financial capabilities of students and their parents. The classic rental market in these metropolises has become a hostile environment for young people.

The pressure of tourist rentals on the classic supply

How did we get here? One of the major aggravating factors of this crisis is the uncontrolled proliferation of short-term tourist rentals. In cities with exceptional cultural heritage like Rome, Milan, or Florence, owners overwhelmingly prefer to rent their apartments to passing tourists rather than students for the year.

This phenomenon literally dries up the supply of long-term housing. Apartments once intended for student shared housing are being transformed into tourist lets, which are more profitable and perceived as less risky by landlords. This scarcity of supply, combined with ever-strong student demand, creates upward pressure on the prices of the few properties still available on the classic market.

Faced with this bitter observation, it is becoming clear that the traditional student rental model is running out of steam in Italian cities. It is urgent to rethink how we house our young people, by making the most of existing spaces rather than desperately looking for studios that no longer exist.

University residences and PNRR: From promises to the realities of the academic year

Aware of the social emergency, the Italian government has attempted to provide responses, notably through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). On paper, the announcements were ambitious: the creation of more than 63,200 new beds for students by 2027. A theoretical breath of fresh air long-awaited by student associations.

However, the reality on the ground for the 2026-2027 academic year is very different. Out of the 63,200 promised beds, only 33,000 are actually available and operational this year. This gap between political announcements and effective delivery leaves tens of thousands of students out in the cold, forced to turn to an already saturated private market.

But the thorniest problem does not lie only in the number of beds; it is in the prices. Student unions, like the UDU (Unione degli Universitari), have taken a stand to denounce rates deemed totally inaccessible within these new structures. Indeed, many residences financed by the PNRR are managed by private operators that apply rents reaching 850 euros per month for a single room.

This absurd situation drains the initiative of its social substance. How can it be justified that student housing in Milan or Rome, supposedly subsidised to help young people, costs more than the minimum wage of many part-time workers? University residences, intended to be the students' shield against property speculation, are ultimately participating, against their will, in general price inflation.

Homestay: The supportive alternative to inflation

It is in this context of deep crisis that renting a homestay makes perfect sense. At Roomlala, we are convinced that the solution to the caro affitti 2026 will not come only from building expensive new buildings, but from the optimisation of the existing housing stock, driven by values of mutual aid and solidarity.

An economic springboard for student housing in Milan and elsewhere

The first advantage, and not the least, of a homestay is its financial accessibility. By renting out an unoccupied room in their main residence, the host does not have the same profitability requirements as a property investor. The prices offered are therefore structurally lower, often 20 to 40% cheaper than the traditional rental market or private residences.

Let's take a concrete example: Luca, a student from Puglia, has just been accepted to the Polytechnic University of Milan. Faced with studios costing over 900 euros and shared housing at 700 euros, his budget doesn't stretch that far. By opting for a homestay via Roomlala, he finds comfortable accommodation with a couple in their fifties for 450 euros per month, all bills included. Not only does he save nearly 300 euros per month, but he also avoids exorbitant agency fees and the tedious process of setting up water or electricity accounts.

This solution helps democratise access to higher education. Finding student housing in Milan must no longer be a privilege reserved for the wealthiest families, but a right accessible to all through the sharing of space.

More than shared housing in Rome, real intergenerational mutual aid

Beyond the purely financial aspect, renting a student room in Italy in a homestay offers an invaluable human dimension. In a society where isolation affects all generations, living together helps to recreate social ties. This is particularly true in big cities where anonymity weighs heavily on newcomers.

Let's imagine the case of Maria, a Roman retiree living alone in a large apartment in the San Lorenzo district, not far from La Sapienza. Her children have long since flown the nest, and her pension is struggling to cover the rising cost of living. By hosting Sofia, a first-year student, Maria ensures a significant extra income. But above all, she regains a reassuring and dynamic presence in her daily life. Sofia, for her part, benefits from a quiet environment to study, valuable tips from a local to navigate the city, and a living environment much warmer than an impersonal room.

At Roomlala, we see these beautiful stories come to life every day. A homestay is not just a property transaction; it is a moral contract of mutual aid, an exchange of favours that gives meaning back to the notion of neighbourhood and community.

How Roomlala supports you in this transition in Italy

We know that taking the step of renting a homestay can raise questions, both from hosts and tenants. That's why Roomlala has set up a secure and transparent ecosystem, designed to support you at every stage of your project in Italy.

• Profile verification: We place capital importance on trust. All profiles, whether hosts or tenants, are verified by our teams to ensure smooth exchanges.
• Secure online payment: The first month's rent is paid via our secure platform. The money is only transferred to the host 48 hours after the student's arrival, which eliminates any risk of scams, a scourge unfortunately common on unmoderated classifieds groups.
• Insurance and assistance: By using Roomlala, you benefit from guarantees adapted to protect both the host's property and the tenant's peace of mind.

From a legal point of view, Italy offers contracts perfectly adapted to this situation, such as the contratto di locazione per studenti universitari (rental contract for university students). This type of transitional contract, lasting from 6 to 36 months, is ideal for renting a room. It offers interesting tax advantages for the owner (notably via the cedolare secca) while protecting the student's rights.

In conclusion, faced with the brutality of the caro affitti 2026, it is time to change the paradigm. Do not let the surge in prices dictate your academic future or burden your family budget. Whether you are a student looking for a cocoon to succeed in your year, or an owner with a spare room looking to give the youth a helping hand while topping up your end-of-month income, the solution is just a click away. Join the Roomlala community and take part, yourself, in a new way of living and sharing space in Italy.