The construction of new houses and apartments in Italy or the renovation of existing housing is subject to national and local regulations. When a house or an apartment (or flat) in a building is completed, a certificate of occupancy (certificato di abilità) is issued certifying that the property observes legal requirements and local regulations. In particular, the certificate guarantees that it has been built according to the criteria for protection from earthquakes, that it observes requirements regarding health and hygiene, sound insulation and energy saving. With regard to the latter, each house or apartment should have its own Energy performance certificate (A.P.E.) stating that the property belongs to a category from class A to G according to construction features that allow varying levels of saving on energy consumption: the so-called passive house has a level of consumption below 15 kWh/m2 per year (kWh per each square metre of heated surface); class A includes properties that consume less than 30 kWh /m2per year , class B includes properties that consume less than 50 kWh /m2 per year; these buildings are defined as low energy houses.
Buildings in Italy are generally made of reinforced concrete and brick while older buildings are made of bricks or stone and brick. Only recently have wooden houses begun to be built but there are very few in our area and even steel is little used in house building. For this reason, houses situated in low buildings do not need fire-prevention devices such as smoke detectors.
The minimum size of a house is generally 28 sq. m of floor space (accommodation for one person) but there may also be more restrictive local regulations. For example, in some parts of the municipality of Pesaro the minimum surface area is 45 sq m. The rooms also have minimum surface areas, which are laid out by national regulations: a double bedroom must be at least 14 sq m and a single bedroom must be at least 9 sq m. It may seem strange that a bedroom should be so large but in Italy it is customary to have a large wardrobe for clothes in the bedroom. Only more elegant houses have room used exclusively for clothes (a walk-in wardrobe). Houses can have one or more bathrooms, with or without ventilation and natural light. They generally have a basin, a lavatory, a bidet and a shower. Buildings have a heating system for late autumn and winter: in general, each house has independent heating with natural gas which can be turned on and off by the occupant who can regulate temperature with a thermostat. The heating systems mainly use radiators although underfloor heating systems are often installed in luxury residences.
Some old buildings are listed due to their historic importance by an organisation that is responsible for safeguarding Italy’s architectural and artistic heritage (Soprintendenza – the Italian Commission for Architectural and Art Heritage). The renovation/restoration work is supervised by the Soprintendenza; in these cases, the certificate of occupancy confirms that the work has been carried out in accordance with the conservation criteria of the relevant Soprintendenza which has duly given its assessment and approval.