SCIA: what it is, how it works, costs and procedures

SCIA construction: what it is, what it is for and how it works

SCIA : it is not a dirty word but an important building title . But how to proceed? Here's everything you need to know about SCIA in one comprehensive guide.

My name is Elia Caneppele and I am interested in everything related to quality construction and renovation in general.

Today we will see together what SCIA is and how it works , who has to submit it and when, the amount of costs and what happens after the submission.

SCIA - Certified notification of start of business

Professionals in the sector, but also private individuals who relate to each other, should be familiar with the characteristics of the various building titles. In fact, for all those who interact every day in carrying out building works it is important to know how they work.
Among them is the SCIA construction to which we have dedicated this guide article to understand what it is, what it is for, what are the interventions for which it is necessary and much more. In short, for anyone interested in understanding how SCIA works, we recommend reading on.

SCIA Construction: what is it?

SCIA is the acronym for Certified Start of Business Report. It is a building permit that must be presented to the relevant Municipality to carry out certain building interventions.

The SCIA was introduced by law 122 of 2010 and replaces the building titles that existed before (ie the DIA or Report of Start of Business and the DIAP or Declaration of Start of Production).

How SCIA works

The SCIA is concretely a self-certification accompanied by attachments and serves to demonstrate that you possess certain requirements :

• subjective requirements , that is, those moral and professional requirements required to carry out certain activities;
• objective requirements indicated by the legislator based on the type of economic activity you want to start.

SCIA - construction - what works should be done?

The activities subject to SCIA are those that do not fall within the interventions with free building regime and those for which the PdC (Building Permit) is required.

Here are some building interventions for which you need to have the SCIA:

• extraordinary maintenance of structural parts of the building;
• conservative restoration of structural parts;
• building renovation (for those cases not mentioned in Article 10, paragraph 1, letter c);
• variants in progress with a Building Permit (which do not change urban planning parameters, volumes or intended use);
• variants at the end of the works.

Here are some examples of intervention for which SCIA is needed:

• opening and closing of doors and windows holes;
• construction of stairs;
• replacement of roofs and floors;
• construction of balconies and terraces.

Attention: I remind you, however, that these interventions cannot increase the total surface of the building!

SCIA construction: who must present it?

The owner of the property presents the SCIA in the Single Building Desk of the relevant municipality. It does so by attaching these other documents:

• project drawn up by a qualified technician;
• substitutive declaration of certifications;
• certifications and asseveration of qualified technicians;
• declaration of conformity of requirements, accompanied by technical documents;
• payment of the municipal bulletins.

SCIA start of works: when can I start?

SCIA start of works : therefore, once the SCIA communication has been presented, the works of the intervention can be started immediately.

However, the Technical Office of the Municipality has 30 days to check the legitimacy of the declarations and could take the following measures:

• for minor shortcomings, the owner can ask the owner to integrate documents;
• for serious shortcomings the owner will be forced to suspend the work and remove.

In any case, the right to resubmit the report of the start of activity (Article 23, paragraph 6), with the modifications to make it compliant, is reserved.

In light of this, I strongly recommend that you wait for the 30 day limit .

SCIA release: silent consent after 30 days

After 30 days, if the Public Administration has not produced any opinions (positive or negative), the rule of Silence Assent is applied.

SCIA release : after one month without any communication the act takes full effect.

SCIA construction: how long does it last?

In reality, the duration of the SCIA does not have a specific term. However, the SCIA replaces the old DIA and therefore the term indicated by the latter is considered valid. This means that the works must be finished no later than 3 years from the start.

SCIA construction: how much does it cost?

The cost of the SCIA is determined by:

• local taxes;
• fee of the professional.

Usually a SCIA practice costs between 300 and 1000 euros .

SCIA Late and in amnesty

Starting work subject to SCIA without first reporting it to the Municipality can lead to two types of sanctions:

• Late SCIA : presented during the execution of the works, fine of € 516;
• SCIA in amnesty : presented after the intervention has already been completed (but compliant), fine from € 516 up to € 5,164.

After the construction work there is the final test

Once the intervention has been completed and the communication of completion of the works has been made, the designer issues a final inspection certificate, to be submitted to the one-stop shop.

Furthermore, the interested party presents the receipt of the cadastral change.

I hope this SCIA guide was useful to you.