Pergotende: the Council of State clarifies the limits between furniture and building abuse, a sentence of the Council of State clarifies that the pergots with sliding windows, without plants and volumes, fall into free construction, strengthening the rights of citizens.

In recent years, more and more people have chosen to enhance their outdoor spaces by installing light and functional structures such as the pergotendeoften equipped with retractable roofs and sliding windows. But these apparently simple interventions can raise significant doubts on the urban plan: do you need a building permit? Or are it free building?

A recent sentence of the Council of State has rekindled attention on this issue, overturning a TAR decision and canceling a order of demolition issued by a municipal administration for the construction of a structure on the terrace of a home.

Was the central knot the qualification of the work: Pergotena or new construction?

The treated case opens important reflections on what it actually means “precarious delimitation of space“And to what extent we can talk about simple urban furniture.

But then: how do you distinguish a pergotenda from a closed building volume? What are the limits to be respected to return to free construction? And what changes with the introduction of the removable panoramic windows (Vepa) in the building legislation?

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The judicial case: the facts

The story was born from a building intervention carried out on the terrace of a private home, located on the top floor of a condominium building. The owners had installed a structure made up of a retractable coverageresting on the external wall of the house, closed on three sides with Transparent sliding stained glass windowsand equipped with wooden slatted flooringfurnishing elements and a table with chairs.

The structure, of small size (about 5.10 meters by 2.60), was communicating with the interior of the house via a portfinestra.

This intervention had been carried out after the demolition of a previous canopy authorized by concession in amnesty, issued in 2015. However, according to the Municipality, the new structure did not constitute a simple replacement of the previous one: despite having a lower surface, it was presented radically different For constructive and functional characteristics.

The administration then ordered the demolition of the workconsidering it abusive as unauthorized and in contrast with the urban planning regulations in force. In particular, the body stressed that the perimeter windows, even if slidingwere suitable for Close the outdoor space permanentlytransforming it into useful surface and altering the intended use of the terrace.

The owners challenged the measure in front of the Lazio TAR, claiming that it was a pergotiaan external furnishing intervention not subject to building permit as they are without elements of stability and permanent closure. The TAR, however, rejected the appeal, adhering to the thesis of the Municipality: according to the first instance judges, the work carried out was to be considered one new construction and as such subjected to a building, with consequent legitimacy of the demolition order.

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The decision of the Council of State

With sentence no. 607/2025 The Council of State completely overturned the TAR decision, accepting the appeal presented by the applicants. The college recognized that the structure in question It is part of the works of free constructionas they are qualifiable as pergotia And not as new construction.

The Council applied the principle of “more liquid reason“, By deciding the case on the second reason for appeal, considered founded, and judged the work in accordance with the criteria outlined by the consolidated jurisprudence on the subject of pergotendas.

Specifically, he recalled previous judgments – including Cons. State, section VI, 28 December 2022, n. 11530 And Cons. State, section VI, April 3, 2019, n. 2206 – according to which the pergotendas represent free construction interventions If they do not determine the creation of closed and stable spaces.

In the case examined, the lateral windows were sliding and easily removablewithout insulation or connections to the home systems. Consequentially, an urban transformation is not configured or an increase in volume.

The function of the work was exclusively to improve the usability of the outdoor space, ensuring protection for themselves, wind and rain, without changing the intended use of the terrace.

The college also stressed that theabsence of heating or ventilation systems and the precarious nature of the perimeter closure They prevent the structure as an autonomous building organism. In the absence of these elements, the structure does not require permit to build and falls within the provisions of art. 6 of Presidential Decree 380/2001, as confirmed also by DM March 2, 2018 – Free construction glossarywhich expressly includes the pergotends among the unanswered absent interventions.

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The jurisprudential definition of Pergotena

The heart of the Council of State sentence no. 607/2025 revolves around the qualification of the work as pergotiaa term now consolidated in building practice, but often the subject of divergent interpretations by local administrations. The jurisprudence, however, has provided in recent years precise criteria To correctly identify these structures, in order to establish whether or not they require a qualification.

According to the constant orientation of the Council of State – also reiterated in sentences such as n. 8190/2019, n. 3309/2020 and n. 11530/2022 – a pergottended can be considered a Free construction intervention if:

• has function Accessories and pertinent with respect to the house;
• does not determine one new volume;
• it is without fixity, stability and permanence typical of real construction works;
• does not involve one urban or functional transformation external spaces.

Central element is the concept of “Precarious delimitation of the outdoor space”: if the closure, as in the case in question, is made up of Sliding or removable windowsand there is no connection to home systems (heating, ventilation, electricity), then the structure It cannot be considered a closed habitable volumebut only temporary shelter. In essence, what matters is that an environment assimilable to the internal one of the home is not created.

In this perspective, Pergotenda is configured as a furnishing elementdesigned to enhance the usability of terraces or gardens, guaranteeing protection from atmospheric agents but without altering the urban characteristics of the property.