The desire for amnesty never subsides and also has an impact on the 2026 APBN Law. This time the choice to forgive parties who do not respect the rules falls on the amnesty building. And senators from the Prime Minister’s party followed it up with an amendment to the budget shelved in the Senate Budget Committee, which calls for reopening a building amnesty from 2003, when Silvio Berlusconi was at Palazzo Chigi. This action had the potential to impact all of Italy, but was in fact designed specifically for Campania, which at that time under Bassolino’s leadership did not participate.
What the amendment says
The correction submitted by senators Matteo Gelmetti and Domenico Matera of the Fratelli d’Italia effectively reopens the possibility of reinstating illegal building works in accordance with the 2003 building amnesty rules (article 32 of Legislative Decree 269/2003), which is now in its third edition. In particular, provided that work carried out without or without complying with building permits, but in accordance with urban planning regulations and the provisions of urban planning instruments approved or adopted on March 31, 2003, may be subject to amnesty. However, this only happens if at the time of construction the building is not burdened by restrictions imposed by regulations aimed at protecting hydrogeological and aquifer interests, environmental and landscape assets as well as national, regional and national parks and protected areas. province.
Amnesty in 2003
The third building amnesty provides the possibility to correct building violations committed on 31 March 2003. Among the work that can be corrected are those carried out before the application of the restrictions, which comply with urban planning regulations. For properties in restricted areas, intervention can only be carried out with restoration, conservative rehabilitation or extraordinary maintenance intervention without increasing the surface area. In contrast, amnesty is not granted for work in areas that have absolute unbuildable boundaries such as landscape, environment, hydrogeology or history. As well as work that does not comply with restrictions or is unauthorized, or even work carried out on properties with serious criminal penalties or in areas that do not comply with anti-seismic regulations. There is no amnesty even for illegal properties that have previously received amnesty. For properties located in restricted areas, a favorable opinion from the authority administering the restrictions is still required.
The Case of Campania
At the national and regional levels and especially in Campania, based on the regional legislation in force at that time, many development amnesty practices remained pending and unresolved for a long period of time. For this, the same region has granted several extensions over the years so that the file can be closed until the final extension was determined on December 31, 2020. However, despite repeated extensions, there are still delays in the definition of procedures related to property, especially in areas at risk of being exposed to volcanoes and for buildings that require the issuance of building permits under the amnesty. What weighs on each situation are environmental constraints and now the existence of new red zones that are not included in the amnesty through the same budget amendment.
Not a new idea
This idea was not one that emerged at the last minute: in June, the Council’s Environment Committee was tasked with examining a draft law, signed by deputy Imma Vieri, whose amendments had been photocopied. And there’s a good chance that those modifications will end up in a table of so-called reported proposals, which is much lower in number than the proposals in the folder on file at the commission (5,742): the overall share of improvements that will actually come to a vote at the commission has been set at 414 (238 majority).
