Yes, from the Confederation to the rescue of housing.

The article from April 6, 2024, discusses the innovations that Italy's Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, is proposing in the real estate sector. A group of real estate professionals supports the "Salva casa" package of measures, which is expected to have a positive impact on the housing market situation.

One of the main focuses of the proposed package is to eliminate urban barriers that hinder real estate transactions. The current situation, where millions of homeowners face legal difficulties due to minor changes, such as shifting a window by a few centimeters, requires prompt resolution. Real estate agencies and homeowners understand the importance of these measures.

The Fimaa Federation of Real Estate Agents responded to the criticism, stating that it is incorrect to accuse the initiative of being a mere amnesty. It is also worth noting that Fimaa has regularly emphasized the need to simplify bureaucratic procedures to eliminate minor discrepancies that hinder activity in the housing market. The problems, as explained by the president of Fimaa Italy, Santino Traverso, can not only delay but also completely block transactions.

The organization Confedilizia also supports this initiative. Lawyer Giovanni Govi, who is part of the national coordination council on urban planning issues, described the changes as a reasonable proposal that allows for the legalization of situations that have persisted for years without amending existing legislation. According to him, this will help resolve many incorrect and unresolved situations that have arisen due to formal discrepancies.

However, the reaction to the changes is ambiguous, as some see them as another step towards the legalization of offenses.

What changes are expected in light of the new regulations?

First of all, the issue of legalizing purely internal changes in buildings is regulated, such as:

• niches in the walls
• rearrangement of partitions
• windows that do not comply with the project documentation
• layout

It is also important that the legalization includes lofts, for which a permit from the municipality is currently required due to the increase in usable area.

The legalization process will change, as previously, to legitimize buildings without permits, it was necessary to comply with the regulations both at the time of construction and at the time of applying for amnesty. The new rules only require compliance with the regulations from one of these periods, which eliminates the need for demolition and reconstruction.

Construction deviations

As for construction deviations, currently a 2% variation is allowed, which corresponds to 2 cm for every 100 cm. However, this figure is quite insignificant and is only applicable to new buildings. With the increasing number of old buildings, it has become clear that these standards are often not met. Therefore, there are plans to raise the limit to 5%, particularly for structures built before 1985. Moreover, for small houses, a proportional standard is proposed: the smaller the area, the higher the allowable deviations.

Change of property designation

As for the buildings constructed in the 1960s, there may be a coincidence between the actual condition and the legitimate one. However, this should not apply to serious violations.

The changes will also affect the procedure for changing the designation of real estate. It will now be possible to change the status of properties among four categories:

• residential
• manufacturing
• commercial
• agricultural

Therefore, for example, a medical office can be converted into an engineer's office, but it cannot be transformed into a residential space or a store.