In his recent speech during the presentation of his book “Controvento”, Matteo Salvini has announced an initiative that could have a considerable impact on the Italian real estate landscape.
Known as the plan “Save-Home“, this measure aims to regularize the small internal structural differences present in almost 80% of Italian homes, according to studies by the National Council of Engineers. These irregularities, which often arise from interpretative uncertainties or minor modifications made by the owners, such as partitions or mezzanines, have so far been difficult to remedy due to the strict “double compliant” regulations.
Salvini proposes to simplify these processes, not only to help citizens regularize their situation, but also to lighten the workload of the municipal technical offices.
The provision will be presented to the Council of Ministers before Maywith the hope of obtaining the support not only of Salvini's party, but also of other members of the government, despite the reservations expressed by the prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
Detailed measures of the mini building amnesty
The mini building amnesty would focus on several key aspects to facilitate the regularization of minor irregularities in homes. One of the main innovations proposed concerns the possibility of regularizing floor plans that do not correspond to the current state of the internal spaces of a property.
This will be particularly useful for those who purchased a home based on inaccurate floor plans, allowing them to officially adjust the documentation without penalty, as long as there is no damage to third parties.
Another focal point of the measure is the focus on homes built before the 1960s, which often lack adequate documentation regarding their legitimate status. With the new plan, these properties could also be regularised, thus facilitating renovations or their sale.
Furthermore, the elimination of the so-called “double compliance” is proposed. Currently, to remedy discrepancies created without adequate permits, it is necessary to demonstrate that the intervention complies with both the regulations in force at the time of construction and the current ones. Salvini's proposal would allow amnesty based on compliance at one of two points, significantly simplifying the process for thousands of practices.
Finally, as regards the declaration of the legitimate status of properties built before 1967, the plan provides that the current state can be recognized as legitimate, eliminating the need for further building permits, but with the limit of not condoning obvious abuses.
These measures aim to significantly reduce the costs and time associated with regularizing building defects, whilst maintaining a certain level of control to avoid abuse of the legislation.
Mini building amnesty will not be an incentive to illegal building
The mini building amnesty, although proposed as a solution to facilitate the regularization of small irregularities, is not free from criticism and challenges.
One of the main concerns is related to the possibility that this measure could be interpreted as an incentive to not comply with building regulations in the future, given that owners could expect new amnesties later.
Furthermore, the risk that the regularization of small irregularities could open the door to more extensive amnesties is a hot topic that could generate political and social controversies.
Another critical aspect is linked to the impact on municipal finances. While the plan aims to lighten the workload of technical offices with simplified procedures, municipalities could lose significant revenue from fines for construction irregularities, which often represent a non-negligible part of their budget.
This loss may require compensation through other forms of taxation or cuts to services.
