Franca, a 94-year-old resident of Florence, faces losing the home she has occupied for more than six decades after her landlord proposed raising the monthly rent from €450 to €1,200. Her tenancy expires in February, and her family says renewal on those terms would be unaffordable. She receives a minimum pension and a survivor’s pension following her husband’s death; according to her daughter, paying the proposed rent would leave her with virtually nothing for basic needs, including food.
Franca has lived in the 70-square-metre flat since the early 1960s. She shared it with her husband, and her daughter was born there. Filled with family photographs and keepsakes, it remains the only place where she truly feels at home, her daughter says. Her daughter has not yet brought herself to explain the situation to her mother. Although willing to contribute towards a modest increase, she considers the proposed sum impossible and says there was no meaningful opportunity to negotiate. She has approached the tenants’ union Sunia for assistance.
The case comes as renters across Tuscany face wider pressure: the region saw 2,427 eviction orders in 2025. Florence was the source of about 35% of requests to enforce evictions across Tuscany. Franca’s circumstances also echo those of María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, an 87-year-old whose eviction in Madrid following a steep rent increase made her a symbol of Spain’s housing struggle. She died in hospital a few days after being evicted.
