The Construction of Resourceful Tenants in Collaborative Housing for Young People in Milan

In Western European countries, approaches to social housing allocation have mainly been shaped by notions of need and choice. In the wake of a renewed interest in collective housing forms, the current social housing landscape features examples of self-regulated approaches, reflecting providers’ increased autonomy in creating their allocation criteria. Drawing on a collaborative housing program for young people in Milan as a case study, this paper presents a novel allocation system, resource-based, that combines objective and subjective eligibility requirements to construct the “resourceful tenant” identity. By examining the selection process of aspiring resourceful tenants, this paper discusses the new layers of selectivity and the ambiguities of resource-based allocation, reflecting on the implications for inclusion and exclusion of young people in urban housing markets increasingly under pressure.