American Military Housing in Vicenza

“Where will I live?” is a big question when moving to Italy. You may wonder how you will ever find housing or if everyone lives in government quarters. Hopefully, this post will help explain the housing system here in Vicenza.

Options for Military Housing in Vicenza

For active duty military families, there are three options for housing here and a policy to determine which kind of housing you will be offered.These options include government quarters (typical on-post housing), government-leased quarters and private rental quarters.  If you are a civilian moving to Vicenza, you will automatically receive private rental housing.

Government Housing in Villagio

Villagio is on-post government quarters. While Villagio is not actually part of the main post, it is a neighborhood walled off from the surrounding community. The schools, child development center, teen center and a shoppette are located on Villagio. Just like any other military base, you must show military identification to enter.

The houses on post are not single family houses. They are two-story stucco duplex or four-plex. The size of the house will obviously depend on the size of your family.

Government-Leased Housing

You will find government-leased quartersout in the communities surrounding Vicenza. Typically, they government rents a whole building or several buildings with many units. Many of these government-leased apartments are  new and modern.

In government-leased housing, the government is responsible for the utilities and rent. You do not deal with a landlord or have to pay utilities.

Private Rental Housing

Private rental housing is just what it says. You select a rental from a list of houses approved by the housing department at Vicenza. You will have a limited number of visits with an interpreter to see these homes. You will be responsible for signing a lease and obtaining utilities.

It is your option to use a realtor to find housing. If you are not having any luck using the listings at the housing office, you can choose from a list of approved realtors. You will end up paying a fee to these realtors for their services equivalent to the cost of one month’s rent.

Official Policy for Assigning Housing

Basically the policy the post uses for assigning housing says that if housing that meets your family’s needs on Villagio is available, you must accept it. If no housing is available on Villagio, then you will be shown government-leased housing. If no government-leased housing is available, then you move on to private rental housing.

You can read the Housing Policy Memo here.