Italian courts crackdown on building violations

The municipality of Tortona imposed a financial sanction on property owners after uncovering a series of unauthorised building works, including the illegal covering of a terrace with a wooden frame and polycarbonate sheets, unauthorised extensions, and internal re‑configurations. The owners paid the penalty to regularise the building and the case was forwarded to the municipal police, regional authorities and the public prosecutor.

In a separate ruling, Italy’s Court of Cassation rejected a claim that a 56 m² structure added to a terrace could be justified under the “Salva Casa” tolerances. The court affirmed that the works constituted new illegal volume, violating building and landscape protection laws, and upheld a preventive seizure ordered by the lower tribunal.

A Naples tribunal also ruled on a dispute involving the illegal conversion of a ground‑floor shop into a residence and unauthorised façade alterations. The court held the property owner liable for the tenant’s unauthorised works, ordering the removal of the modifications and restoration of the building’s original state.