Manoeuvre, the majority reopens the 2003 building amnesty: here is what it provides for

The desire for amnesty never wanes and it also hits the budget law for 2026. This time the choice to pardon those who do not respect the rules has fallen on the building amnesty. And bringing it forward with an amendment to the manoeuvre deposited in the Senate Budget Committee are the senators of the premier's party, who are calling for the reopening of the building amnesty from as far back as 2003, when Silvio Berlusconi was in Palazzo Chigi. The measure potentially concerns the whole of Italy, but in fact it was designed in particular for Campania, which at the time under Bassolino's leadership did not join in.

The corrective measure presented by senators Matteo Gelmetti and Domenico Matera of Fratelli d'Italia in fact reopens the possibility of amnesty for unauthorised building works according to the rules of the 2003 building amnesty (Article 32 of Decree Law 269/2003), which at the time was in its third edition. In particular, it is envisaged that works carried out in the absence of, or non-conformity with, the building permit, but in compliance with the urban planning regulations and the prescriptions of the urban planning instruments approved or adopted as at 31 March 2003, are eligible for amnesty. But this is only if at the time of their realisation the buildings were not encumbered by constraints imposed on the basis of rules aimed at protecting hydrogeological interests and aquifers, environmental and landscape assets as well as national, regional and provincial parks and protected areas.

The third building amnesty provided for the possibility of sanctioning building abuses carried out before 31 March 2003. The works that could be remedied included those that had been carried out before the imposition of the constraint and that complied with urban planning regulations. In the case of property in a restricted area, it was only possible to sanction restoration work, conservative renovation or extraordinary maintenance without increasing the surface area. On the contrary, amnesty was precluded for works on areas with absolute non-building constraints such as landscape, environmental, hydrogeological or historical constraints. The same applies to works that do not comply with constraints or are unauthorised, or works on buildings with serious criminal convictions or in areas that do not comply with anti-seismic regulations. No amnesty also for unauthorised properties that have already been the subject of previous amnesties. For buildings located in restricted areas, the favourable opinion of the authority governing the constraint was still required.

At a national and regional level, and especially in Campania under the then regional law, many building amnesty dossiers have remained pending and unfinished for a long time. For these, the region itself has provided for several extensions over the years to allow the dossiers to be closed, so much so that the latest extension has been set for 31 December 2020. But in spite of the repeated extensions, there are still evident delays in the finalisation of dossiers on buildings, especially in volcanic risk zones and for buildings that required the issuance of a building permit as an amnesty. Weighing on the individual situations are above all environmental constraints and now the new red zones, which the same amendment presented to the manoeuvre excludes from the possibility of closing the amnesty.

The idea is not a last-minute one: in June, the Environment Committee of the Chamber of Deputies was assigned to examine a bill, signed by MP Imma Vieri, of which the amendment is a photocopy. And there are ample chances that the amendment will end up on the table of the so-called flagellants, whose number is far lower than the proposals contained in the folders deposited in the committee (5,742): the total quota of the amendments that will actually go to the vote in committee has already been set at 414 (238 majority).