Maenza is a town and commune in the Province of Latina in the region of Lazio. Only 70km from Rome this town is set in the Lepini hills. It has its own castle which was originally built as a watchtower in the 12th-13th centuries.

At the time of writing, we understand there could be as many as 100 old houses that could be allocated to new owners. This appears to be different from most of the other €1 house schemes we have looked at. Maenza is not suffering from severe depopulation, rather the mayor Claudiob Sperduti just wants potential buyers to renovate the crumbing buildings that the owners have long neglected.

As such there is no requirement for successful applicants to become permanent residents in Maenza and indeed the property can be used as a bed and breakfast, a shop or studio.

Renovations will need to be carried out within a three-year period and a security deposit of €5,000 is required but this will be returned to the owner once the renovation works have been completed.

Applications for the first small tranche of properties closed on 28/08/2021 and had to include details on how the property would be renovated and final usage etc. Preference would be given to applicants that intend to reside at least part time in Maenza and with a young family.

Going forwards other empty properties will be reclaimed from the current owners and allocated to the €1 scheme.

Most of the properties are small and likely to be in the 50-70 square metres range which should in theory mean the cost of renovating could be low, maybe even as low as €5k to make a property habitable.

We have no doubt that €1 houses in Maenza will be very sought after due to the proximity to Rome and the sheer beauty of the region. We think it is only the second town in the Lazio region to participate in the “Case €1” schemes.