Accomodation warranty
If a worker already has a home, it doesn’t mean that regularization will oblige employers to find a new accomodation, it is indeed clear that the law’s aim is that each person applying for regularization has anyway an accomodation. If it is clear that employers are not obliged to find a place where their employees live, it must be also clear that in case an employer helps the worker finding a home, he/she doesn’t have to pay for it in addition to normal employment expences (that are insurances, contributions, withholding taxes) otherwise Italian workers would be discriminated. Only house keeping expects board and accomodation in addition to the salary in cases workers “cohabit”, but this is provided for by the national house helpers’ contract, which is an ecception to the rule. Since employers do not need to pay for a living place, any worker can look for, and change, an accomodation by himself/herself as it usually happens. It doesn’t matter whether the worker states that he/she owns a house or he/she rents one, because he/she can be hosted by others from the same country, by relatives or anywhere he/she likes. It could also be an accomodation centre (whose set of rules accept quite a long stay). Only accomodation, its effectiveness and the fact that the person lives there are to be proved. A suitable accomodation isn’t required, a suitable accomodation is the one holding the pass certificate released by Council or Azienda Sanitaria Locale. The accomodation pass certificate is required only in the following cases provided for by law : 1- In case of family rejoining, when migrant worker’s family members entry in Italy hasn’t yet been authorized. 2- When residence paper is being asked by migrant workers themselves and relatives at his/her expenses.
In all those cases the availability of an accomodation must be stated as well as its own pass certificate, released after an inspection checking the proportion between house dimensions and people there hosted and house conditions.
In case of regularization no instruction requires that accomodation holds pass certificate. The important is that an accomodation exists and that it is not illegal. It is insignificant to regularization that lodging is being found or paid by employers.
Paying for accomodation
It quite often happens that employers juridically grant for accomodation by signing rent contracts stating that the flat is being used by their emploees. Employers do not need to pay the rent, the person living there will do it. Law decree says that (after a previous change to law 189) “…employers, who paid accomodation rents when fulfilling the warrant required by subordinated work residence contract, are entitled to monthly withhold for the time of service an amount of money which cannot exceed one third of the whole paid”. This instruction obviously regards only employers who really found accomodation and entirely paid for it and eventually paid for electricity, heating, water, etc… An interpretation to this instruction is necessary, in fact up to a third of monthly wage can be withheld only if this these are the expenses borne. If expenses are lower, it is obvious that deductions must be proportional. A practical example : In case a firm rents a flat that hosts four employers and pays for it 400 euros a month, that firm can withhold 100 euros a month from each worker salary. A migrant worker lodged in a flat given by his/her employer has the right to receive a report, to verify the real expenses and to pay only what’s appropriate, deductions can be another form of worker’s exploitation in case of “increase in price” clearly illecit usury would take place.
Many employers rent flat for the use of guests. More precise information needs to be given also on this case : house lease for the use of guests is defined as satisfying temporary accomodation needs, it can therefore be used in case of people not holding open-end working contracts. A practical example : house lease for the use of guests can be signed when workers detached coming from other branches need accomodation, in fact it may happen that they need to stay only few months. No other use of house lease for the use of guests are legal, when someone has an open-end contract and needs a stable accomodation this contract is not to be considered valid. In this situation the worker is entitled to ask for application of the law and pretent “equo-canone” parameters. He/she will be able to ask to make calculations on what can be paid according to the flat. He/she will also be entitled to ask for a minimum contract lengh. In fact, a house lease lasts at least four years. House leases for the use of guests often last only one year. In case the flat is not used temporary, the one year clause is not valid because it is opposed to the law that grants to the people using the house at least a four years period of living. Even if the contract is registered in the employer’s name and the flat is then steady used by workers, we should think that this contract is independent from the working contract. The cancellation of working relation for any reason can’t be possibly cause the end of lease contract, unless it is stated on the contract. This happens because leases are to provide someone with a house, not to assure work perfomances. In case the employer wants to deeply connect the working perfomance to the use of the accomodation given to employees, this must be stated on an appropriate contract or agreement that supplements the employee-employer’s contract. A practical example : the following agreement could be considered valid, an employer allows the worker an accomodation and defines that the wage – for example 1000 euros a month – won’t be all paid cash. Pay packet will tell 1000 euros, 200 of which are the use of house and the rest in cash. Accomodation is a benefit and contributions must be anyway paid on it. Rent is paid month by month, for this reason the year-end bonus (as well as summer bonus when paid) must be fully paid. Severance pay, as well, at the end of working relation needs to be calculated on the whole wage, accomodation can’t be part of this. The agreement is valid only if stipulated in these terms, making it clear that both employer and employee agree on binding the use of the flat to the working relation, otherwise the ending of working relation can’t solve the rental.
Changing address and accomodation
Many wonder whether the address given in the regularization forms can change or any change may cause problems in regularizing procedures. This shouldn’t produce problems. It is quite normal that a person moves and changes home, in fact a flat can become unfit for many reasons (fire, etc.) or there can be a notice to quit or the hospitality of someone may come to an end, etc. Remember that any address change must be reported even during the time waiting for Prefettura multifunctional counter’s calling. Apart from employer’s duties, anyone giving hospitality to migrant citizens must report to local authorities (questura) within 48 hours from the moment hospitality start, either because there’s a real contract going on and a rent is being paid or because the person is freely hosted. If hospitality is not being reported serious administrative sanctions may occur. In case accomodation was provided for by the employer, he/she has to report the beginning of hospitality to police headquarters, a part from regularization application. In case accomodation was provided for by a person strange to the working relation, he/she has to report the beginning of hospitality to police headquarters. The necessity of reporting hospitality is completely indipendent from all other employers fulfilments and it also regards subjects strange to the working relation. In regularization forms only migrant workers accomodation address is required. When the meeting at Prefettura comes the relation allowing the use of the flat will have to be stated as well as migrant citizen hospitality statement to local authorities and any address change.
Hospitality declaration
It states that a migrant non EU citizen is being hosted in someone’s home. This declaration is compulsory, when a house lease is signed the holder of the contract must give the declaration in together with a copy of hospitality report and a copy of the declarant’s ID. A registered copy of the house lease (registered in the declarant’s name) must be given. All the above said fulfilments will need to be repeated if accomodation address changes.
When it comes to migrants not holding residence papers the person giving hospitality often doesn’t report hospitality – even if he/she are obliged to – to avoid the risk of exclusion orders. Law decree allows a sort of a mini-pardon extended to those who haven’t reported hospitality so far. Art. 1 paragraph 9 bis states that “subjects giving hospitality that are others from employers are obliged to report hospitality,as provided for by T.U. art.7, time limit is extended to November 11 2002”. Therefore if hospitality is reported by November 11, even if it started long time before and it wasn’t reported within 48 hours, hosts are not incurring in sactions.