ANYONE looking to move home this summer might want to consider heading to Italy, after it was announced that you could be paid more than £12,000 for doing so.
The local government on the island of Sardinia is desperate for people to live there and has set aside a total of €45million (£38m) to pay people to make the move.
The island is the second biggest in the Mediterranean and is home to long sandy beaches, as well as breathtaking mountain scenery.
Its white sand is so famed that removing it from the beaches, as well as pebbles and shells, was made illegal in 2017.
Locals were fed up with tourists trying to take a piece of the beach home with them – and then attempting to flog it for a profit.
There is even a dedicated Facebook page – called "Sardinia robbed and plundered" – to highlight the problem.
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Anyone who chooses to move to the island could get the €15,000 (£12,600) non-repayable grant, however there is a slight catch.
The grant is only available for people willing to move to certain areas of Sardinia.
Those areas include places where there are currently fewer than 3,000 residents.
The idea is to boost economic growth on the island by increasing dwindling populations.
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Additionally, the money from the grant must go towards purchasing a house or its renovations.
The amount received must not exceed half of the total cost of the property or the refurbishment.
Sardinian President Christian Solinas explained the scheme and said it was all about creating new opportunities for Sardinians.
He said: “We have created the conditions for young people to decide to stay and (develop) the economic fabric of the most fragile territories.
"Thanks to the contributions to their first houses, this is strengthened and becomes fertile ground for those who will move there or decide to build a family.
"There can be no growth without a real enhancement of the territories, of the interior and most disadvantaged areas, which must pass through new policies for their repopulation.”
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Similar schemes have seen Italy offer homes for €1 (84p) in recent years.
Flying to Sardinia could cost as little as £30 this summer.
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