finally - piano casa approved
The Piano Casa has been approved for Sicily, and consents the increase in volume for existing property. Only houses finished by 31.12.2009 and with a volume of less than 1000 cubic metres are eligible.
Also, any house that is wholly or in part ‘abusivo’ or which has been sanato cannot take advantage of the new law. Any property which forms part of the piano casa must be in regola, destined as a habitative space and be current with the payment of all taxes due on the building.
It is possible to demolish and rebuild residential property completed by 31.12.2009 using green building methods and energy saving fonts of energy thereby gaining between 20% and 35% of the existent volume. Obviously the greener the new build the greater the increase in volume permitted.
It is also possible to demolish and rebuild on a different footprint, though remaining in the same property as long as the original (demolished) footprint is destined as green space or as parking for the property. It is also allowed to construct one or more underground floors, destined as parking on the condition that the comune is granted the green space above.
In those buildings not classed as residential, an increase in volume is permited up to 25% of the covered space, but not more than 400mq. This 25% of the existent volume must use green building techniques, and this can be augmented to 35% using renewable energy sources. Excluded from this class are hotel and touristic buildings, aswell as commercial buildings and which must in any case fall into the designated areas of the local urban law as ‘industrial’.
The law was passed on 12 March 2010 and the comunes now have 120 days to make local adjustments to the regional law, which means that the piano casa should be fully active by mid July. All work done under the Piano Casa must be completed within 2 years. It appears that it will be the individual comunes decision whether the work can be done with a simple DIA or whether it will require a concessione edilizia.