Unimprese: Green deeds directive halts Italian real estate market

It turns out that the European directive on so-called "green homes" could be a real bomb threatening to paralyze the real estate market in Italy. If not amended, there will be significant problems with the provision of mortgage loans for the purchase of homes in our country, as well as difficulties with loans to small and medium-sized enterprises on the basis of real estate collateral. This was reported by the Association Unimpresa in its document.

What is envisaged by the green homes directive

The new European rules, which will start to apply from June in phases: 2027, 2030, 2033, 'illegal' properties that do not meet the new energy efficiency requirements will naturally lose value.''This will consequently affect both new mortgages and new loans granted to SMEs based on real estate collateral. 'The situation of the owners of 8 million properties requiring adaptation to European energy standards represents a situation comparable to that of those liable for illegal construction,' notes the Unimpresa Association.

The implications for Italy

According to Unimpresa, when the bank's expert makes the necessary checks on the property serving as collateral for a mortgage or loan, the procedure may stall when "irregularities" are detected. "This means that banks - and we have information that some groups are already discussing this''opportunity - will be able to lend much less because homes that don't meet the standards will have less value as collateral compared to the amount of the loan made. "

Those who want to buy a home that has not yet been renovated and go to a bank for a mortgage loan could face problems, while a small entrepreneur who wants to finance a new business or needs liquidity for an investment could face serious problems using their property as collateral. All this could lead to a collapse in housing prices and paralyze the real estate market. "We are in this situation because, as always, European regulations are being developed based on the standards of the Nordic''Countries where the situation is completely different from the Italian one.

Necessary changes to the text of the green homes directive

"In our view, we need to do two things: the first is for the government to intervene in Brussels on the directive already adopted by the European Parliament. There is time until June to make an amendment, while adapting the new rules, trying to make changes for each country based on the differences in each real estate 'park'; it is also very important to extend the timeframe in which the renovation of residential and commercial buildings will be mandatory to make''them more energy efficient. ' The second, also important thing to be done in Italy is to control the system of tax incentives for building renovations in order to make them structural and permanent," says Minozzi, national advisor to Unimpresa.

"New methods need to be found so that property owners can receive the incentives. The 110% superbonus was going in the right direction, aimed at improving the energy efficiency of properties and improving their safety by protecting them from possible seismic events. However, it showed a few problematic points. The fact remains that without tax incentives, it will be impossible for Italy to comply with European rules. We believe that the threshold of incentives provided by the government in the amount of''about 70-75% of the total amount of reconstruction, can be positive for owners and sustainable for public finances. One possibility that the government should seriously think about is the use of the tax credit through appropriation' adds Minozzi.