Heights, windows, lighting: with the Salva Casa, the building site of habitability is also open

Minimum building size, heights, ratio of floor area to window area. The habitability requirements for homes are on the way to being revised in the parliamentary passage of the save-home decree (Dl n. 69/204), scheduled to start on 11 June in the Chamber of Deputies. Signs of this are multiplying, because a retouching of these stakes is already on the technical tables of government and parliament.
But also because there are many voices, among building technicians, who emphasise that the Ministerial Decree of Health, dated 5 July 1975, is now too antiquated a reference, and no longer up-to-date with technical progress, for defining the main hygiene and health requirements 'of dwelling premises'.

It is no coincidence that an organic reform of habitability was already attempted just over a year ago: at the beginning of 2023, the Ministry of Health had circulated an outline of regulations on the subject, which then remained a dead letter. It went to implement a passage of the Testo Unico edilizia (Article 20, paragraph 1 bis, introduced in 2016 and then still unimplemented) that calls for redefining 'the hygiene and health requirements of a performance character of buildings'.
Already in 2021 (with decree 77), the Draghi government had already introduced exceptions to the minimum heights and air-to-light ratios for buildings in restricted areas (minimum heights raised to 2.40 from 2.70 metres and the ratio between floors and openings raised to one-sixteenth, from one-eighth). Not forgetting the myriad of regional regulations that, for example on attics, provide for special cases and exceptions, again with regard to heights.

Ance vice-president in charge of building and territory, Stefano Betti, explains: "While we are very much against any form of amnesty, it must be said that on this issue we are talking about clearly anachronistic regulations, dating back to 1975, born at a time when there was a need to enlarge cities, while today there is a priority, also linked to what Europe is asking of us, to regenerate and reconvert the spaces of our urban centres".
In short, health and hygiene requirements are part of the galaxy of regulations to be reviewed in the coming months, which include, among others, the rules on town planning and the single text for construction. So, 'it would be fine,' Betti continues, 'to make a few exceptions within the Salva casa, which would work as a temporary solution, but then it is essential to make an overall reform and review the 1975 decree'.

In practice, there are mainly two problems. Some constraints that are too rigid risk putting the brakes on change of use and, therefore, reuse of buildings. It happens with the minimum dimensions, which for units must be 28 square metres for one person and 38 square metres for two. And it happens for the minimum heights set at 2.70 metres, which can be reduced to 2.40 metres for corridors, hallways, bathrooms, toilets and closets. Furthermore, other constraints are not consistent with the technological innovations that have taken place in the meantime. Today there are, for example, forced mechanical ventilation systems that allow for smaller openings than in 1975.
Another Betti gives a few examples to help us understand when these stakes become too rigid: "Let's assume that we have a small office of 30 square metres, perfectly legitimate. Today it is impossible to convert it into a residence because the minimum unit for two people is at least 38 metres. If, however, the unit was legitimate before, it should remain so after the change of use. And the discourse is similar for heights. If there are already existing buildings that are perfectly legitimate, they should be habitable even if in some cases they are below the legal minimums'.