The latest news on the 2025 Housing Plan

When does the new building amnesty come out?

Matteo Salvini, now Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, has spoken on several occasions about his proposal for a building amnesty which would be part of the so-called Housing Plan for 2025. The date is not yet certain, but in the meantime the Ministry has made it known that it is working for a package of rules to intervene on the house, in response to requests received from local administrations, associations and bodies in the construction sector.

The League leader proposes a plan to revitalize the real estate market, focusing efforts on freeing properties currently unused due to minor bureaucratic or construction irregularities. The goal is to increase the supply of available homes and apartments, especially in metropolitan areas where the discrepancy between supply and demand has led to prohibitive prices.

It is therefore a proposal that concerns a building amnesty of limited dimensions, aimed at relaunching the real estate market. This measure would make it possible to regularize homes with minor irregularities, facilitating the sale and rental of millions of properties in Italy.

The building amnesty proposal put forward by Matteo Salvini aims to specifically address formal and substantial differences in the building context. These include:

discrepancies of a formal nature, linked to the interpretative uncertainties of the current regulations;

  "internal" building discrepancies, concerning individual real estate units, to which the owners have made slight changes;

changes in the intended use of properties between homogeneous categories;

discrepancies that could be remedied at the time the intervention was carried out, but cannot be remedied today due to the "double conformity" regulation which does not allow obtaining permission or reporting in amnesty for many interventions dating back over time.

Salvini therefore intends to offer a solution for those construction situations which, despite presenting minor irregularities, find themselves in a state of legal stalemate due to regulatory and interpretative evolution.

The idea is that by remedying these small irregularities, the supply of houses on the market could be increased, leading to a reduction in sales and rental prices, to the benefit of those who are struggling with high mortgage rates. Although the League leader had already discussed similar initiatives previously, the word "amnesty" had not been explicitly used, probably to avoid criticism from the opposition.

What is a building amnesty?

The building amnesty is a legal measure adopted by the State which allows the regularization of building works carried out without respecting the urban planning regulations in force at the time of construction.

Through amnesty, illegal property owners are given the opportunity to avoid more severe penalties, including:

administrative sanctions: local authorities can impose financial fines on property owners for construction carried out without the necessary permits. The amount of the fine depends on the seriousness of the infringement and the extent of the deviation from the urban planning regulations;

demolition order: in cases of serious violations, the authorities can issue a demolition order for the illegal work. This involves the total or partial destruction of the building or structure created in violation of building laws;

criminal sanctions: especially when illegal construction involves risks to public safety or significant violations, criminal actions may be initiated against those responsible, which can lead to sentences that include imprisonment;

block on sale or mortgage: illegal properties may be subject to restrictions that prevent their sale or mortgage, significantly limiting the possibilities of transferring ownership or using the property as collateral to obtain financing.

The amnesty aims to integrate otherwise illegal constructions into the urban fabric, trying to solve problems related to safety, territorial planning and taxation.

In Italy, the building amnesty has been applied on several occasions over the years, generating debates regarding the effectiveness of urban planning policy and land management, as well as the ethical implications linked to the regularization of illegal activities.

Idealist article