Save the house, Rome engineers: here's what can be done, on studios and two-room apartments waiting for the Government

Rome - “The 'Salva Casa' decree was created to remedy those slight discrepancies that a citizen may have today on his real estate unit compared to a past project, clarifying unequivocally the principle of verification of conformity. A provision that intervenes in those cases in which, having a building permit or a SCIA (certified notification of commencement of activity, ed.), while completing the work a slight discrepancy was created which was not reported in the documents but now there is an opportunity to do so”. The president of the Order of the Engineers of the province of Rome, Massimo Cerri.

“In this case the conformity assessment is simplified, therefore it must comply with the urban planning regulations of when the non-conformity occurred and with current building regulations. – said Cerri – This simplifies the procedure but with one caution: if you are in a seismic zone and if these discrepancies are of a structural nature, they must have a structural verification that passes through the regulation of regional standards".

The decree “intervenes on a clarification of the method of assessment between the issues of construction and those of urban planning, and with simplifications, for example on the issue of removable glass windows, which are already feasible because with a free construction procedure a glass window can be installed – continued Cerri – It then acts on construction tolerances and on the issue of determining urban and building compliance, which can be implemented now in cases of slight compliance, but clarifying the method. It then introduces important aspects on changes in intended use: here we must be careful because in making the distinction between the change with or without works and vertical or horizontal change (i.e. within the same planned urban planning class or another) we must take into account the regional and municipal regulatory standards”.

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If instead a citizen wanted to remedy an abuse after having constructed a building without a building permit "in this case, assuming there are the conditions to be able to do so, we fall into the so-called double conformity, both urban planning and construction – Cerri clarified – Therefore, the work must comply with both the urban planning regulations of when it was built (certifying the exact date through a technician) and of the time when the application is submitted, as well as with the building regulations of the time of construction and of today”.

In some cases the “Salva Casa” is not yet immediately implementable. For example “on the exemption on the minimum size limits for studios and two-room apartments, for the application of the decree we need government guidelines that are coming out. Today a studio apartment must be at least 28 square meters and a two-room apartment 38. The 'Save the house' decree says that 20 and 28 square meters are sufficient respectively – said Cerri – But since we are talking about usability and this only occurs following an act that allows for the construction of that work, today this is not implemented. We can consider it a direction of the State that must however be adopted by the Regions and Municipalities”.

Government guidelines “they will help to better define – concluded Cerri – the boundary of what we call in the full sense the urban planning aspects compared to the building ones, so that it is clear both for local authorities and for professionals which aspects must be certified”.

From silence-denial to silence-assent, risk for municipalities

"The impoverishment of technical resources within municipal offices suffered in recent decades is felt even more today in its impact. Because the analysis of technical practices requires professionals present in the administrations and time to do them carefully" continues the president of the Order of Engineers of the Province of Rome, Massimo Cerri.

“Having changed the silent denial into a concept of silent consent in favor of citizens, with a view to simplification, carries the risk of putting small municipalities in difficulty, but also large ones that may be overwhelmed by a significant quantity of requests for documentary analysis. – explained Cerri – This means that if it is said that within 45 days the evaluation of a building permit must be made and in 30 days the evaluation of a SCIA (certified notification of commencement of activity, ed.) and then within that time the citizen does not receive a response, that silence turns into assent. But with caution. Because in the following 12 months the administration still has the right to evaluate and revoke in self-regulation”.

Then a “this could generate important case studies that will have to be analyzed in court – concluded Cerri – It is important that technicians are trained and operate in an ethical and careful manner so that what they declare never fails to be verified as true”.

“The engineers are ready” concludes Cerri. “The change is important because in all cases where the decree says that it is necessary to certify that, for example, the tolerances fall within the parameters, it is the technician who certifies that the actual dimensions fall within the construction tolerances of the original project. – explained Cerri – Or when it is necessary to ascertain the date on which the non-conformity was generated: until now all this could be done through a testimonial process, today instead with a documentary process. But all this passes through a documentary attestation that the technician makes by assuming important responsibilities”.