You can own a house in Italy for 1 euro or less, we are not even joking. Anyone can own a house in the picturesque villages in the Italian countryside for less than Rs 100 as part of a unique scheme.

The town of Maenza has now become the first in Rome’s Latium region to sell houses at a cheap rate. It was also mentioned that in the coming future, a number of abandoned or empty houses & lands in the region will be put up for sale. Though applications for the sale of the first few houses in Maenza will close on August 28, more houses in the region will be made available to the buyers soon.

Mayor Claudio Sperduti says he's launching an ambitious "pact for the rebirth" of his hometown with the aim of breathing new life into its quiet alleys by repopulating it. The goal, he says, is to recover all disused crumbling properties by liaising between old owners and potential buyers lured by knockdown prices.

"We're taking it one step at a time. As original families get in touch and hand over to us their old houses, we place these on the market through specific public notices on our website to make it all very transparent," Mayor Claudio Sperduti said.

Those who are approved to buy one of the properties in Maenza will have to commit to renovating it within three years. Buyers undeterred by the condition must submit an application with a plan for the property and what it'll become. A deposit guarantee of €5,000 (about $5,840) will also have to be submitted. That money will all be returned after the work is complete.

The town's administration wants to "combat the abandonment of the ancient medieval village of the city centre", which is located about 60-70 km southeast of Rome, according to a translation of the details on the scheme's website, provided by The Independent.