Free building activity
Ordinary maintenance: painting, replacing floors and tiles, repairing systems without substantial changes. No permit, but it is worth documenting the works.
Home/Real Estate/CILA or SCIA
Guide · Building permits in Italy
CILA or SCIA: which permit your works need.
Before opening a site in Italy you need to understand whether the works are free building activity or require a CILA or a SCIA. Here are the differences with concrete examples.
Veneto & FriuliFree site surveyFixed priceSingle point of contact
The differences
Three levels, explained simply
CILA
Certified notice of start of works: extraordinary maintenance without touching structures, e.g. moving partitions, redoing systems, joining or dividing rooms.
SCIA
Certified report of start of activity: more significant works, e.g. on structural parts, or certain building renovations.
Building permit
For new construction and the most important transformations.
Listed buildings
Extra authorisations from the heritage authority or landscape authorisations may be needed.
Local rules
Each municipality may have its own forms and procedures: a technical check is always the first step.
Examples
Examples of common works
Redoing a bathroom replacing only tiles and fixtures in the same position is generally ordinary maintenance; if you redo the systems or move the shower a CILA is usually needed. Creating a room with a partition wall changes the internal layout: CILA. Opening up a load-bearing wall affects structures: SCIA with structural calculations.
Without the correct permit you risk fines, problems when selling the property and the loss of tax deductions. That is why, in the works we carry out, permits are prepared by our technicians and included in the quote: here is how it works.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Who files the CILA?
A qualified technician (surveyor, architect, engineer) who certifies the compliance of the works, on behalf of the owner.
Is the CILA needed for the renovation bonus?
For extraordinary maintenance yes: the correct building permit is one of the documents underpinning the deduction.
Not sure which permit you need?
Tell us the works and address: we check and prepare the paperwork.