Up to 6 thousand euros per year from the State for the rent of separated or divorced parents with dependent children and income of up to 35 thousand euros. Who can benefit from it, how it will work and why you can’t apply yet
Part of the rent paid by the State, with a ceiling of 6 thousand euros per year, for those who are separated or divorced, have dependent children and continue to respect maintenance obligations and have an annual income not exceeding 35 thousand euros. This is the heart of “separated parents bonus, the law, now ready, which will establish the housing support fund for those who, after the end of a marriage or cohabitation, have not remained in the family home despite having dependent children. The Ministry of Infrastructure has asked the Ministry of Economy to release the resources. According to initial estimates, the economic aid would concern around 5 thousand beneficiaries.
Rent bonus for separated parents: what it is
After separation, one of the two parents very often remains to live in the family home with the children, while the other has to pay the rent for new accommodation. Rent and maintenance are an economic burden for many families. The State will intervene by covering half of the rent, up to a maximum of 6 thousand euros per year, which is equivalent to approximately 500 euros per month for an entire year. The measure entered the 2026 Budget Law with a budget of 20 million euros per year, for three consecutive years (2026-2028), thus reaching a total of 60 million. The ministry estimates that the potential audience is around 15 thousand people, although the first applications accepted should be around 5 thousand in the initial months.
Who can apply for the fund: the necessary requirements
Access to the bonus will not be automatic for anyone who is separated or divorced. Some requirements are needed. First of all, you must have at least one dependent child, a requirement valid until the child turns 21. It is also necessary not to be among those who have obtained the assignment of the owned family home, as well as to be up to date with maintenance payments: those who are behind in payments will be excluded. There is also an income limit, set at 35 thousand euros a yearcalculated not with the ISEE, but by looking at the taxable income tax. Added to this are two practical conditions: having a regularly registered rental contract and not owning other houses within 50 kilometers of what was the family home. A final aspect to keep in mind concerns cumulativeness: anyone who already receives another rental bonus will not be able to add it to this one, but will have to choose which of the two measures to use.
When the separated parents bonus starts and how to apply
For now, however, there is still nothing to present: the last piece is missing. Everything hangs on the release of resources by the Ministry of Economy, an essential step before the implementing decree can be signed. That decree will establish the definitive amounts, the criteria with which the priorities will be chosen and the concrete rules for accessing the bonus. The Ministry’s objective is to arrive at the first payments by the end of the year. When everything is operational, requests must be submitted onlinebut we will still have to wait for the text of the decree on the exact platform and methods. It is likely that right there it will be found too the criterion with which resources will be assigned to families who meet the requirements: income, number of children and actual spending on rent are among the factors that could weigh the most. Another element that is already clear concerns the geographical distribution: the funds will not arrive equally throughout the territory, because the ministry has already announced that it will give priority to the regions where separated or divorced parents are more numerous and where the housing crisis is more felt.
