Italy's governing majority has tabled amendments to reopen the 2003 building amnesty and regularise pre-1985 illegal developments. The proposal is still under debate, but it affects millions of Italian property owners.
Italy is once again discussing a building amnesty. In recent weeks, the governing majority has tabled a series of amendments as part of the reform of the new Consolidated Building Code, opening a debate that could affect millions of property owners with unresolved irregularities — minor or significant.
What is a building amnesty and why is it back on the agenda?
A building amnesty is a law that allows the regularisation of constructions or alterations carried out without the necessary permits or in breach of planning regulations. Italy has three historic amnesty laws: 1985, 1994 and 2003. The current proposal, as reported by Idealista and Today, forms part of the rewriting of the Building and Construction Code — the new Consolidated Text — currently under review by the Chamber's Environment Committee.
The two proposals on the table
The first proposal, put forward by Forza Italia, concerns reopening the 2003 amnesty. The aim is to extend the regularisation scheme uniformly across the country, overcoming regional fragmentation that limited its effectiveness, and to allow the regularisation of properties in protected areas that were excluded from the original amnesty. Alongside this, work is under way on a measure for minor internal irregularities — lean-tos, porticoes, balconies, layout changes — carried out before 30 September 2025, drawing on the philosophy of the 1985 amnesty applied to the present day.
The second proposal, promoted by Lega, concerns illegal property developments built before 1 October 1985. In practice, it would allow Municipalities to regularise entire urban settlements that arose decades ago without proper planning. A measure with potentially very broad impact, especially in some regions of southern Italy. As noted by Case Menozzi, this is a proposal that divides political opinion significantly and could have a strong impact on the value of many properties that are currently difficult to sell.
What would happen to currently irregular properties
Many Italian properties are today difficult or impossible to sell, mortgage or renovate precisely because of unresolved planning irregularities. An effective amnesty unlocks these situations: it frees up transactions that have been stuck for years, enables access to mortgages previously denied, and makes renovation works possible that would otherwise be prohibited. According to Brocardi, the possible reopening of the 2003 amnesty could unlock regularisation for thousands of properties currently in a genuine bureaucratic limbo.
Why the proposal is still uncertain
Despite political interest, the proposal is not yet law. The amendments had already been presented during the 2026 Budget Law process but did not find space in the final text, flowing instead into a parliamentary order of business, as documented by Money.it. The path to entry into force could be long and subject to substantial changes: opposition is significant, including within the governing majority itself.
What to do now
Anyone with a property affected by planning irregularities does not need to wait for a law to be passed to understand their situation. The first step is always a technical and legal assessment of the property's status: identifying what irregularities exist, whether they can be resolved under current rules, and how they relate to the proposals under discussion. Act informed, not in waiting.
→ T4's consultants provide support in assessing properties with planning irregularities. Find out more at t4srl.com