Reform and simplification of building regulations
The key point of the meeting concerned the reform and simplification of building regulations which would allow us to overcome a series of critical issues that today characterize the system of supply and demand for housing. In particular, the Legislative Office of the Ministry has indicated the need to implement short-term and long-term interventions.
In the first case the priority is represented by a simplification of the rules which would make it possible to overcome, while always respecting safety criteria and the general interest, slight external or internal discrepancies of the individual units
real estate and buildings.
In the second case instead (long term), the MIT intends to achieve a substantial and overall reorganization of the TU for Construction.
Sanitization, slight discrepancies
During the meeting particular attention was paid to classification of minor discrepancieswhich do not jeopardize the safety of buildings and the collective interest but which very often prove, in the current sometimes contradictory regulatory framework, difficult to overcome by ensuring that the real estate units are not subject to either sale or lease.
The question posed concerns the remediation of slight discrepancies in buildings regularly approved, tested and made usable which from the outset showed small dimensional variations compared to what was approved or which in a subsequent period were the subject of interventions which, without substantially affecting the approved volume, have led to distribution changes in the accommodation or changes in perspective (movement of openings, closure of balconies or verandas, etc.) without however compromising the safety conditions of use.
It is clear that in such cases it is necessary to intervene so that the legitimization of such properties occurs faster times of what is happening today: it is an aspect that all operators believe must be addressed and resolved by rewriting the rules and simplifying them also in light of the experiences acquired so far.
The role of the CNI at the MIT table
The National Council of Engineers, represented at MIT by the Councillor Eng. Irene Sassettihas prepared a document with specific observations on construction matters, proposing some simplifications.
In particular, the document prepared by the CNI focuses on a “more rapid” remediation of some structural modifications within defined volumetric limits, always without prejudice to the safety conditions of the building, on the possibility of declaring legitimate a property built before September 1, 1967 with discrepancies, compared to the original project, relating to the plan or the internal distribution of the spaces or to slight changes in the shape, on the overcoming the so-called double compliance in amnestiesclassifying as remediable the works carried out without authorization if they comply with the building and urban planning regulations in force at the time of construction of the work itself and if from a structural point of view they are subjected to checks and testing by a qualified professional.
“The CNI is working, together with a variety of other entities – states National Councilor Irene Sassetti – in order to identify and classify clearly what from a purely technical point of view falls into the category of “slight discrepancy”, always giving priority to respecting the safety criterion of the structure of the property on which work has been carried out. We then hope that, on the basis of this classification, the legislator will proceed with a rationalization and simplification of already existing rules which allow these discrepancies to be eliminated today but which in some Municipalities require very long times due to bottlenecks in workflows or redundant procedures and not to the technical complexity of the practice. The objective of the technical table established at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is to rationalize the body of legislation on the subject, simplifying the work of local authorities, while still guaranteeing the safety of buildings, placing on the market (for rental or sale purposes) properties that cannot be negotiated due to minor discrepancies. It is important to reiterate that we are talking about minimal differences which are very different from building abuse which for us must always be prevented, opposed and sanctioned.”
On the other hand, the experience acquired after the start of the Superbonus season, starting from 2021, has placed technicians and clients faced with sometimes insurmountable difficulties for the definition of the legitimate status of a property with an extension of the time needed to undertake deep renovation works or even to give them up even in the presence of slight, essentially irrelevant discrepancies, which often in many municipalities have required the initiation of extremely complex, redundant procedures , compared to the smallness of the irregularity.
Press release by Antonio Felici, head of the Press Office of the National Council of Engineers
