Published on 24 April 2023

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 28342/21
Daria PRATESI against Italy
and 14 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 3 April 2023

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applications concern eviction proceedings instituted by the applicants, owners of leased premises.

In particular, the enforcement of the orders for possession (ordinanze di sfratto) for rent arrears issued in the applicants’ favour was suspended pursuant to emergency legislation enacted in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, namely Article 103 § 6 of Law Decree no. 18/2020, Article 17-bis of Law Decree no. 34/2020, and Article 40-quarter of Law Decree no. 41/2021. By judgment no. 213/2021, the Constitutional Court dismissed several questions of constitutionality with regard to the above-mentioned provisions.

Under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, the applicants complain about the disproportionate character of the generalised suspension which did not allow for a consideration of the circumstances of the case and was not balanced by compensatory measures.

Under Article 6 of the Convention (access to a tribunal), they complain about the delay and uncertainty in the enforcement of the judicial orders for possession.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1.  In the light of the statutory suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession under the relevant Law Decrees (Law Decree no. 18/2020, Law Decree no. 34/2020 and Law Decree no. 41/2021), did the applicants exhaust all effective domestic remedies, as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention? The parties are invited to submit pertinent domestic case-law and/or legal literature on the matter.

2.  Did the statutory suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession impose an excessive and disproportionate burden on the applicants, amounting to a violation of their right to property under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy [GC], no. 22774/93, § 59, ECHR 1999-V)?

In answering that question, the parties are asked to comment on:

(i) the duration of the suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession in their specific cases, taking into account the nature and the issuing date of the orders;

(ii) the evolution and the aims of the legislative framework, taking into consideration the different measures sequentially enacted;

(iii) the compensatory measures of a general or specific nature (i.e. addressed to the general population and/or to landlords subject to the suspension) provided for by the State and applicable to the present cases (see, for example, the exemption from the municipal property tax – “IMU” – under Art. 4-ter of Law-Decree no. 73/2021 converted into Law no. 106/2021).

3.  Did the statutory suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession impose a disproportionate restriction on their right of access to a tribunal under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (Burdov v. Russia (no. 2), no. 33509/04, § 65-67, ECHR 2009; mutatis mutandis Bozza v. Italy, no. 17739/09, §§ 42-44, 14 September 2017; and Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy [GC], no. 22774/93, §74, ECHR 1999-V)?

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

1.  The applicants are invited to inform the Court of the status of the enforcement of the orders for possession and whether they have benefited from any compensatory measure of a general or specific nature.

2.  The Government are invited to provide statistical information on the suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession and on State aid (i.e. income supports, allowances and tax benefits) provided for and granted in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and of direct or indirect relevance in the present cases.

3.  The parties are invited to describe the Italian legal system addressing the issue of evictions for rent arrears in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to provide elements, also of comparative law (see, for example, the database “Covid-19 Litigation – Open-Access Case Law Database”), on the scope and reasons of this legislative choice.

[1] Date by which the order for possession requires the premises to be vacated and from which the order for possession may be enforced.