There are several important steps you MUST follow along the way in order to avoid potential pitfalls. For starters, in most rural areas there is a ratio that is fixed by the provincial government and establishes how many square metres of land you need in a given area per square metre of house you want to build.

If there is already an existing “rustico” on the land, you will have to include the area already in existence in that calculation, and will therefore only be able to add what ratio remains available. Some areas also only allow houses up to a certain size, regardless of the amount of land purchased.

Many rural areas have planning restrictions – thickness of concrete beams, size of windows, number of storeys and so on. Being in earthquake zones, mountain areas prone to landslides or river basins prone to flooding will affect things too. This will vary from area to area, and in order to find out the limitation, you must talk to your estate agent or the council “geometra” (surveyor).

Whatever work you do, you will need to obtain planning permission. When repairing something already in existence using the same materials that were formerly used, without changing the interior layout or constructing anything new on the exterior, then you will need to write to the council requesting “manutenzione ordinaria”.

For other changes – removing or putting in walls or staircases, putting bathrooms where there were not bathrooms or replacing the roof, then you will need to submit a number of documents to the council, including photographs, details of the company undertaking the work and a project plan from a geometra. You will then have to wait for up to 20 days before the council confirm your right to proceed with the manutenzione extraordinaria. Failure to comply with this can lead to a large fine, and the work being stopped indefinitely.

For building a new house, extending an old house or putting in windows or doors where there were previously done, the procedure is more complicated. A geometra must draw up plans, which are then submitted to the council’s planning board “commissione edilizia”. Once the plans are approved, they are then sent on to the regional or provincial government for approval.

If you are doing any work that involves water – ie the construction of a bridge, diverting a small river or putting in a swimming pool, then your project will have to include a geologist’s report and be sent to provincial government for approval. If you are in a protected area (zona vincolata) then your plans will be sent to the national “sovraintendenza” to have the aesthetic implications approved.

When planning to build or renovate and extend, the following guidelines are important:

-  Ensure before signing the preliminary sales contract that you have conditional clauses (condizioni sospensivi) in place, clearly stating that the sale will not go ahead if planning permission is not granted.

-  Accompany your estate agent to the council office and consult the geometra about local planning permission/building laws and building ratio (indice).

-  While you are at the council office, request to see a “Certificato di destinazione urbanistica” telling you which category the property or plot is in – agricultural land, commercial property, residential property etc. Check granted planning permission has not expired.

-  If buying a rustico still registered in the land registry instead of the buildings registry (catasto urbano), insist that the vendors have it re-registered before the sale at their cost, otherwise you will end up paying a fine.

-  Hire a local geometra, familiar with local regulations and limitations, to draw up architectural drawings of the planned building work. Once your plans have been approved, you then only have ONE YEAR in which to begin the work, which must then be completed within THREE YEARS.

Remember that your geometra will have to name the building company doing the work on the planning application.The company will have to be registered with the Italian chamber of commerce, and be VAT (IVA) registered. If you are hoping to buy a piece of land and bring over a group of builder chums to do the work, think again.

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