Italy overturns ‘superbonus’ scheme for housing renovation

(EurActiv, 23 Feb 2023) The Italian government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has adopted a radical overhaul of the country’s feted ‘superbonus’ incentive scheme aimed renovating buildings and improving energy efficiency.

“The superbonus from my point of view was conceived with good intentions,” Meloni said on Sunday (19 February).

“However, the measure was so badly designed and so poorly executed that it generated a huge amount of problems that we have now inherited and are required to address,” she said in a Twitter video explaining the new measures, which were adopted on 16 February.

The superbonus for building renovation was originally introduced in May 2020 as part of the ‘Relaunch Decree’ adopted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to restart the Italian economy.

Under the scheme, homeowners could get 110% of renovation expenditure covered by the government.

But it also put a strain on Italian finances, costing more than €105 billion to the state budget, according to Meloni. The scheme was also widely criticised for fuelling inflation and fraud in the construction sector.

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EurActiv, 23 Feb 2023: Italy overturns ‘superbonus’ scheme for housing renovation