An absurd situation in an apparently "normal" welfare state city: while there are thousands of empty dwelling units in Milan, at the same time there are also thousands of people in need of a safe and clean place to live. However, these two elements don't meet—e.g. due to various reasons it takes ca. 2 years to get an empty dwelling unit ready to be assigned—which forces people to live, besides under stress and uncertainty, also in indecent and even dangerous conditions. The social services may suggest families to sleep in a car. Tenants unions act as intermediaries with the authorities, but often the result is a chain of temporary solutions and endless postponing.