Subdivision, consolidation, dismemberment and urban regeneration

PART IV - Regime of urban operations

Title I - Urban operations (art. 214-240)

What it regulates. The four urban operations (subdivision, plot reconfiguration, urban regeneration, urban restructuring) and the distinction from cadastral operations of consolidation and severance. For investors, essential are the 12-lot threshold, the requirement for an urban certificate for consolidation and severance, and the nullity of acts concluded without it.

Urban operations are subdivision, plot reconfiguration, urban regeneration and urban restructuring (art. 214 para. 1); the first two may be carried out inside or outside town limits, the latter two only inside town limits (art. 214 para. 2). They are carried out following a prior planning process, in accordance with urban documentation (art. 215 para. 1); cadastral consolidation and severance are distinct from subdivision and reconfiguration, which require prior urban design or planning (art. 215 para. 2).

Chapter I - Subdivision (art. 216-219)

Subdivision is the division of land (one or more adjacent properties) into three or more plots, for the purpose of carrying out new construction, with the establishment of urban conditions; it is carried out by requesting and prior issuance of an urban certificate for the preparation of a PUZ (art. 216 para. 1). The subdivision perimeter includes lots, access roads, service and common areas (art. 216 para. 2). It is distinguished from cadastral severance by its construction purpose (art. 216 para. 3). Legal acts concluded for a subdivision without compliance with art. 216 para. 1 are subject to absolute nullity (art. 217 para. 2). Inside town limits, subdivision is conditional on the preparation and approval of a PUZ (art. 218 para. 1); by exception, subdivision of land into up to 12 lots for individual dwellings may be done once on the basis of a PUD, if the PUG or PUZ provides for the characteristics of the plots and building regulations, with the adoption of standardized street profiles (art. 218 para. 2). Each resulting plot must have connection to networks, direct or indirect access to public roads, access to public services and minimum areas for roads and plots (art. 219 para. 2).

Chapter II - Plot reconfiguration (art. 220-223)

An operation by which the boundaries of properties in an area are modified, in accordance with the PUG or PUZ (art. 220 para. 1), in a stage of prior consolidation followed by subdivision (art. 220 para. 2), applicable also to built properties (art. 220 para. 3). The initiative belongs to the authorities or owners (art. 221 para. 1). It is conditional on a PUZ (art. 222 para. 1); by exception, reconfiguration resulting in up to 12 lots may be done once on the basis of a PUD, if the regulations in force establish the function, street frontage, minimum area and indicators (art. 222 para. 2). The conditions in art. 219 also apply here (art. 223).

Chapter III - Urban regeneration (art. 224-228)

Urban regeneration is the transformation, renovation and rehabilitation of areas within the locality, delimited by a PUG or PUZ for regeneration, to improve the quality of the built and non-built environment (art. 224 para. 1). Types of interventions: construction and rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure, common spaces, green spaces, cultural heritage, transport and networks, public space, pedestrian safety (art. 224 para. 3); may include plot reconfiguration (art. 224 para. 5) and structural consolidation of existing buildings (art. 224 para. 6). For each area, a local urban regeneration programme is prepared (art. 225 para. 1), with quality of life indicators (art. 225 para. 2) and objectives such as the transformation of former industrial and polluted areas, mobility, public space, management of dysfunctions generated by restitutions (art. 225 para. 6). The programme is prepared by the mayor through the chief architect and approved by a decision of the local council (art. 226 para. 1 and 3). Operations are carried out exclusively on the basis of a PUZ for urban regeneration, at the initiative of the authorities or interested persons; for private PUZs, the rules for negotiating urbanization contracts apply (art. 227 para. 1). Authorization of construction in the regulated area is permitted only after approval of the urban regeneration PUZ (art. 227 para. 3), which cannot be modified by another PUZ (art. 227 para. 4). The action plan for regeneration, with concrete actions and deadlines, is part of the PUZ (art. 228 para. 1 and 4).

Chapter IV - Urban restructuring (art. 229-238)

Urban restructuring is a public interest operation through which urban regulations and plot boundaries in a complex or rapidly changing area can be modified, inside or outside the town limits (art. 229 para. 1). General objectives: reconfiguring property boundaries incompatible with the zone, establishing regulations, equitable redistribution of properties to owners, introduction of new properties into the public domain for public interest purposes, registration of resulting assets (art. 230 para. 1). It applies to areas defined in the strategy and/or PUG and is implemented through a restructuring PUZ (art. 230 para. 3). Stages (art. 231): initiation; elaboration and approval of PUZ with the restructuring programme from which the restructuring percentage results; programme implementation; feasibility study; expropriation, if applicable; finalization through transfer of property corresponding to the restructuring percentage to the public domain and completion of cadastral operations; inclusion in the town limits by separate local council decision. Participants: local authorities, holders of real rights and the ATU expertise centre (art. 233 para. 1). Owner participation is exclusively based on prior consent (art. 233 para. 2), following individual notification (art. 233 para. 3); owners who do not consent are expropriated for public utility reasons under Law no. 255/2010 (art. 233 para. 4). Initiative belongs exclusively to local authorities (art. 234 para. 1). The feasibility study includes situation analysis, reference to strategy and PUG, market study, preliminary project with costs and benefits and technical-economic indicators necessary to trigger expropriation of properties without consent, which form the expropriation corridor (art. 235 para. 1); it is approved by the local council (art. 235 para. 3). The restructuring programme details the zone, public utility reason, financing, stages, criteria, topocadastral documentation, notification and consent procedure, expropriation conditions and maximum duration (art. 236 para. 1) and is approved together with the PUZ (art. 236 para. 2). The restructuring PUZ establishes the share of each property ceded by each participant for public interest objectives and the redistribution method (art. 237 para. 5). Implementation is carried out through the chief architect structure (art. 238 para. 1), through ATU centres (art. 238 para. 2) or through a project company established under the Administrative Code (art. 238 para. 3).

Chapter V - Consolidation and subdivision (art. 239-240)

Consolidation is the joining of two or more properties, provided that the resulting plot complies with regulations on sizing and buildability (art. 239 para. 1). For consolidation for the purpose of carrying out construction works, prior issuance of an urban certificate for cadastral operations is mandatory (art. 239 para. 2); acts concluded without it are void (art. 239 para. 3); exception for engineering works (art. 239 para. 4). Subdivision is the separation of a plot into two properties, provided that the resulting plot complies with regulations on use, sizing and buildability (art. 240 para. 1); it is carried out with a prior urban certificate for cadastral operations (art. 240 para. 2), optional when exiting co-ownership (art. 240 para. 3). Application of art. 256 para. 8 lit. a to subdivision of plots resulting from previous subdivisions is prohibited, to prevent successive subdivisions that circumvent POT and CUT (art. 240 para. 4). Acts concluded without a certificate are void (art. 240 para. 5). A rule with direct impact on small developments: authorization of multiple isolated, semi-detached or terraced individual dwellings on the same plot without PUZ or PUD is prohibited (art. 240 para. 7).

Title II - Sanctions (art. 241-244)

Verification of contraventions under art. 241 is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture, local authorities or I.S.C. (art. 241 para. 5); under art. 243, the control departments of county and local councils (art. 351) or I.S.C. (art. 243 para. 6). Contraventions and offences regarding protected natural areas remain governed by special laws (art. 242). Offence: carrying out any works in violation of art. 190 para. 4 (archaeological zones in protected natural areas) is punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or fine, except for areas with archaeological heritage, to which OG no. 43/2000 applies (art. 244).