Housing: neighbourhoods by profile, short-term rentals, public housing

Neighbourhoods by profile

Historic centre, Monti, Trastevere and Prati: period flats, some of the highest prices in Italy, strong tourist presence; Prati is the most "residential" of the four, orderly and close to the Vatican and metro A. Parioli and Flaminio to the north are bourgeois and quiet.

Testaccio, Garbatella, San Lorenzo and Pigneto: inner-ring districts with street life, markets and bars; San Lorenzo and Pigneto are the student and young areas (Sapienza is next to San Lorenzo), Testaccio and Garbatella have a more family-oriented fabric and metro B.

EUR: business district with offices, ministries, wide avenues and parks, chosen by families and people working for the companies based there; served by metro B. Ostia, on the sea, is linked by the Roma-Lido railway.

Periphery along the metro: Tuscolana and Cinecittà (metro A), Centocelle and Torre Spaccata (metro C), Marconi, Laurentina and Rebibbia (metro B) offer much lower prices with acceptable travel times. Beyond the ring road the supply is wide but car-dependent.

Short-term rentals and key boxes

Tourist-rental pressure is high in Municipio I and the adjacent districts. In December 2024, after an Interior Ministry circular (18 November 2024) requiring in-person identification of guests, Roma Capitale's local police removed key boxes from public spaces in the centre; a first seizure was not validated by the prosecutor, and from January 2025 the city resumed removals relying on its urban police regulation, which forbids fixing objects to buildings of historic interest. In May 2025 the Lazio regional administrative court (TAR, ruling no. 10210/2025) annulled the ministerial circular on in-person check-in. The matter is still evolving: anyone letting or renting short-term should check the current rules on Roma Capitale's website.

Public housing and student housing

Public residential housing is managed by ATER del Comune di Roma (regional stock) and by Roma Capitale's Housing Policies Department; waiting lists are municipal and requirements include residence and income limits. For university students, DiSCo Lazio (the regional right-to-study agency) allocates beds in its residences through an annual call based on merit and income; the main residences are near Sapienza, Roma Tre and Tor Vergata. The private room market is concentrated in San Lorenzo, Pigneto, Bologna/Nomentano and Marconi.