Restoring a property in Italy: how much does a renovation cost?

However, here is the link to the post where I explained all these aspects!

In this article, I’ll provide further details:

1 – We will discuss the cost items to restore a property in Italy;

2 – What are the possible constraints to which a property can be subject. It is very important that you know this information before buying the property, because it can weigh heavily on your investment;

3 – How much labor and materials will cost (we will give examples).

Restoring a property in Italy: how much does a renovation cost?

What are the cost items for restoring a property in Italy?

Let’s make an important premise.

As I always say to everyone, you believe that once you find the right property that you like and want to buy, you have reached the “summit” of the mountain, and now everything will be downhill.

Take it out of your head.

This is the moment you realize that, behind the first one, there is an even higher mountain to climb. That’s because:

1 – You have to negotiate the price;

2 – Even before that, you have to collect the information that will allow you to make a safe purchase, both in terms of the technical aspect and, consequently, also the economic aspect.

You should know that the first thing to do is to appoint an Architect or Engineer, not from the selling party, but one who will do your interest, since not connected in any way to your counterpart (I explain it in detail in this article).

The question you can ask, right from the first visit to the property you are interested in, to those who are showing it to you is:

“Is the property, and the geographical area in which it is located, subject to any kind of constraint?”

Why is it important to know this?

Because if you intend to buy a property to be renovated or modernized, where the same falls in an area subject to some constraint, you will see increased costs for specific professional advice to obtain building permits from public offices.

What are the types of constraints to which a property can be subject in Italy?

Hydrogeological constraint

More than 90% of the Italian territory is at hydrogeological risk

Climate change causes ever-increasing concentrations of rain, that  combined with the carelessness with which homes are often built in areas at risk, endangers the lives of thousands of people.

The main purpose of the hydrogeological constraint is to preserve the physical environment, and therefore to ensure that all interventions that interact with the territory do not compromise the stability of the same, nor trigger erosive phenomena, etc.., with the possibility of public damage, especially in the hills and mountain areas.

So, what to do it in case of purchase?

It is always better to ask for the advice of a geologist to carry out a hydrogeological risk assessment, in order to avoid surprises on the costs of restoration.

Static suitability of the building (seismic risk assessment)

If you plan buying and restoring a property in Italy, keep in mind that we have recently been hit by earthquakes.

The entire national territory has been classified into 4 seismic zones, according to its danger level.

• ZONE 1 – This is the most dangerous zone. The probability that a strong earthquake will occur is high.
• ZONE 2 – In this area strong earthquakes are possible.
• ZONE 3 – Strong earthquakes are less likely in this area than in zones 1 and 2.
• ZONE 4 – This is the least dangerous zone: the probability of an earthquake happening is very low.

Suppose you want to buy a ruined building, or a property that needs to be completely renovated.

If the property is located in an area at high seismic risk, in case of renovation, the renovation may be more expensive to meet the standards imposed by local and provincial regulations that require specific interventions on the structure of the house.

How to verify the static suitability of the structure and the seismic risk?

Through the certificate of static suitability of the building, drawn up by a civil engineer, which certifies the safety conditions of the load-bearing structures of the building and which can estimate the cost of the interventions that are required in that specific seismic area in case of renovation of a building.

Landscape constraint

The landscape constraint has been established by the Italian legislation to protect buildings and areas of greatest landscape value.

The aim is to mitigate the inclusion of building works and infrastructure in these geographical areas, in order to preserve the beauty of the territory.

If the property you wish to purchase is located in an area subject to landscape restrictions, every building work must be carried out according to indications and parameters, such that the interventions cannot damage the landscape and environmental value of the area, but must instead respect and preserve its value.

For these protected areas, the Municipality is no longer the only body in charge of deciding on building interventions: it is necessary to obtain the landscaping authorisation issued by hierarchically superior bodies, such as the “Region”, on the basis of a binding opinion from the Superintendence for Landscaping and Environmental Heritage.

When an area is protected, before carrying out any intervention, it is necessary to request a specific authorization through an Architect or Engineer.

Superintendence of Fine Arts (buildings of historical or cultural interest)

An important aspect of the real estate market concerns properties subject to the constraint of the Superintendence of Fine Arts (Legislative Decree no. 490/1999 and subsequent Code of Cultural Heritage, Legislative Decree no. 42 of 2004), i.e. properties that are located in historic centers, or areas of artistic value, and on which there may be state interests regarding the property with a historical, artistic, architectural or natural value.

The notary will pay attention to the fact that there are no clauses in the deed that may have been drawn up to make it more difficult to exercise the right of pre-emption. Then, after the stipulation, the notary prepares the text of the report, and notifies the contract to the competent Superintendence within 30 days. The Ministry will then have 60 additional days to decide whether or not to exercise the right of pre-emption.

If the property you intend to purchase is subject to this constraint, let’s say that the State has a right of pre-emption on this type of houses.

The procedure for the purchase of these properties consists of two stages:

• 1 – a first phase in which a first contract is stipulated with the owner directly by the notary.

This contract is conditioned suspensely for 60 days from the moment in which the Notary officially informs the Ministry of Cultural Heritage (the State) that you intend to purchase that property under certain conditions;

• 2 – the second phase, on the other hand, is a declaratory act where the notary (within 30 days) must notify the Ministry of Cultural Heritage that it can provide for the pre-reporting of the conclusion of the sale, and from that moment on, the famous 60 days will begin, in which the Ministry (or municipality) will be able to respond (or in the absence, applies the silence / consent rule).

Only after the 60-day condition has been fulfilled, you can take possession of the property for all purposes.

I must also tell you that it is remote the possibility that the Italian State, at this time, has any fund to buy any real estates.

At this time the Italian State is in need of funds, and is therefore more interested in selling and disposing of its real estate assets (more detailed info in this article ).

In relation to a possible renovation of a property subject to constraint to the Superintendence of Fine Arts, lastly, I remind you that, from the time of purchase, any type of building intervention or on painted or decorated surfaces, or conservative interventions, must be authorized not only by the municipality, but also by the Superintendence.

This type of property is subject to the obligations of protection and conservation established by the provisions of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape (D. L.gs. 42/2004) – therefore, if the cultural property suffers any damage, the Ministry will order the person responsible to carry out at his expense the works necessary for reintegration.

Before purchasing, it is advisable to know if the property is subject to these types of constraints through a technician of your choice (Architect or Engineer), also to estimate the costs of renovation.

(In order not to make a mistake, this is one of the articles most read by my visitors)

When restoring a property in Italy, generally , I can tell you that for heavy construction work there are 3 cost items:

1. Cost of the professionals (technical surveys, project implementation, presentations of the practices in public offices, etc…);
2.  Expenses needed to fulfill the works (purchase of materials, labor for demolition and construction)
3.  Municipal fees and charges for obtaining permits;

For a major restructuring, if we were to say that 100,000 euros is the amount of the entire restructuring, we can say that the expenses are divided as follows:

• 10% (roughly): professionals services (Architect, Engineer, etc. ..);
•  5%  (roughly): fees / taxes to obtain permits;
•  85% (roughly): costs of labor and materials.

How much does labor and materials cost for restoring a property in Italy?

It obviously depends on the type of intervention.

Renovating an apartment in the city is not the same as renovating a farmhouse in the countryside.

Let’s say that, indicatively:

1 – for apartments it ranges from a minimum of € 500 per square meter for a light renovation, up to a maximum of € 1,500 per square meter for a heavy intervention;

2 – for farmhouses in the countryside, it ranges from a minimum of 1,000 euros per square meter, up to a maximum of 3,000 euros per square meter for a prestigious property;

The construction of a swimming pool can cost around 50,000 euros for a classic rectangular solution, up to a maximum of 100,000 euros for the most elaborated.

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