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Change “without works” also for free building works
First of all, it should be underlined that the Salva-Casa rules regarding the change of intended use are applicable to substantially impact the costs to be borne and on the need to find new spaces to be used for parking, or pay alternative charges when it is not possible to find them. Furthermore, it was clarified that when to adapt the property to the new cadastral category some work is required that falls within free construction (for example, creating a kitchenette and renovating the bathroom to transform an office into a home) the transition is considered to have been completed “without works”.
Consequently, to submit the application SCIA is sufficient and no longer requires a building permit. In these cases, the aim is to facilitate the transitions quickly and without complications.
Ground floor premises with specific rules
The right to use the SCIA is valid for all Municipalities, without any exceptions whatsoever. However, these bodies have the final say regarding the possibility of apply simplifications regarding the reduction of charges also due to ground floor properties. The text of the decree specifies that regarding the change of intended use “simplified” when it concerns the premises on the first floor above ground it is necessary to take into account the municipal urban planning plan.
The first floor above ground is defined by the RET, the Standard Building Regulation which applies in all Municipalities, as “Building floor whose floor level is located in all its parts at a height equal to or higher than that of the ground adjacent to the building”. In essence, it is what is normally referred to as the ground floor and which, as far as non-residential properties are concerned, is essentially intended for shops, garages, warehouses, and laboratories, but also for offices.
Therefore, according to the law, the change of intended use for these premises can be carried out exclusively in the face of a master plan that allows it. The same also applies to semi-basement real estate units, which are also very often used for non-residential purposes and are similar to those seen so far. No automation it is essentially foreseen, not even in the case of interventions already carried out.
Pay attention to the dimensions for the interventions already carried out
The Save-Home decree, in fact, it’s not really a “free for all”.
So in particular does not allow regularization shops transformed into apartments without authorization or habitability by taking advantage of the new minimum dimensions foreseen for studio flats, that is 20 square meters for one person and 28 for two people, including services, and also the reduction from 2.70 to 2.40 meters for the height of the rooms. The possibility of reduce to a minimum the living space for the purposes of habitability, in fact, facilitates changes in intended use, but only future ones as it is necessary to take into account the requirements specified in the decree, which the technician must comply with in order to issue the relevant certificate, which in fact exclude most of the interventions carried out in the past.
It is expected, in fact, that in all cases the size reduction must be accompanied by greater comfortso it is not possible to apply the new minimum requirements if some specific detail required by law is missing. Consequently, anyone who has already transformed a shop into a mini apartment without having previously requested a change of intended use will be able to obtain habitability only on the basis of the old habitability requirements, so nothing to do if the size is less than 28 meters. If the property is smaller, however, it will have to provide as required by the decree. Otherwise, it will not be possible to put its mini apartment on the market.
