What is the technical report and what is it for?
The urban planning compliance technical report is an essential document for the sale of a property and therefore guarantees its marketability.
Content
It is requested by the notary at the time of the deed and contains the following information:
the history of the property, with all the technical information concerning the building permits with which it was built,
any changes and transformations that have occurred over time (subdivisions, renovations, new division of internal spaces, etc.)
the protocol numbers, the date of issue of the relevant documents and the authority that issued them.
titles of origin with which the current owner came into possession,
the possible existence of active or passive easements on the property, of usufruct, use and habitation
It is the result of careful investigations by technicians (engineers, architects, surveyors) at the relevant offices, to which the owner will have to give formal responsibility.
In essence, the technical report is a guarantee that the real estate is marketable, i.e. salable.
It therefore guarantees that the buyer will not incur any risk in the transaction he is about to conclude.
Not now, nor in the future if he decides to sell the property himself.
This is provided that he does not make any changes in the meantime, in which case a new technical report will be necessary.
Where to find the documents for the technical report
There are two offices where the technician in charge will have to carry out the necessary research:
•Cadastre
•Technical Office of the Municipality where the property is located
The first has fiscal purposes and, therefore, is responsible for property taxation.
The second stores and issues all authorizations to build, renovate and modify a property.
For the purposes of the marketability of the property, the urban planning compliance of the property is of fundamental importance and this can only be certified after having viewed the relevant documentation at the Office.
Technician of the Municipality where the property is located.
What is urban planning compliance
It is the perfect correspondence between the actual state of the property, i.e. how it appears in reality, and how it is represented in the technical documentation, i.e. in the building permits with which it was built.
If it is a renovated property, it must comply with all permits concerning a renovation and redistribution of internal spaces.
Specifically, we need to distinguish between unrenovated and renovated properties
•Property never renovated. If it has never been renovated over the years, it is necessary to check its relevance to the Building Permit with which it was built or to the Building Permit or Building Licence.
•Renovated property. If, however, it has been renovated, it will be necessary to verify that the necessary authorization has been presented (DIA SCIA or CILA).
The verification of urban planning compliance must be carried out by going to the Technical Office of the relevant Municipality and requesting access to the documents by completing a specific form.
Access to the documents is permitted only to the owner of the property or to a third person (usually a technician who can be a surveyor, an architect or an engineer) formally appointed.
The timing for acquiring all the necessary documentation varies from Municipality to Municipality.
In the worst cases, it can even take months!
It is therefore advisable, once the decision to sell has been made, to immediately draw up the Technical Report in order to be sure of selling a "healthy" property when the buyer is found.
What is cadastral compliance
It is also necessary to ascertain the cadastral conformity, i.e. the correspondence between the actual state of the property and its representation in the cadastral plan.
But be careful: simply verifying cadastral compliance and therefore that the cadastral plan corresponds to the real state of the property is not sufficient to guarantee the marketability of the property! There must necessarily be urban planning compliance.
Responsibility
In conclusion, it is the owner who has the obligation to declare and certify the marketability of the goods and is therefore responsible for any problems that may arise subsequently.
The Notary has no obligation to verify that the Technical Report for Urban Planning Compliance is correct.
If complaints should arise in the future from the buyer, the seller will have to take action against the technician who performed his job poorly.
Who is responsible for drawing up and then paying for the technical report?
This obligation varies depending on the customs in force in the place where the property being sold is located.
It can be paid by the seller or the buyer.
In some cities, the technical report is not mandatory because the notary does not request it: in these cases the parties will decide whether to draw it up or not.
Conclusions
It is absolutely advisable to have the technical report in any case and, in the event that the seller has to provide it, I would advise the buyer to appoint his own trusted technician to "supervise" the colleague's work.
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