Corte di Cassazione judgment no. 8230/2019: how the nullity of notarial deeds of unauthorized buildings changes

Were you convinced that it was not possible to sell unauthorized properties and that this resulted in the nullity or annulment of the notarial deed? A recent judgment of the United Sections of the Italian Corte di Cassazione has changed the concept of the nullity of notarial deeds for unauthorized properties.

With judgment no. 8230 of 22 March 2019, the United Sections of the Italian Corte di Cassazione have dictated a new interpretation of the nullity provided for in Article 46 of the Consolidated Law on Construction, i.e. the nullity of acts concerning unauthorized buildings, confirming, moreover, other previous judgments.

The Great Estate Group was confronted with this important new development as part of a recently concluded negotiation.

According to the Court’s new line of reasoning, only deeds in which, by declaration of the seller, the details of the concessions and/or building permits for the property to which the deed of sale relates are to be regarded as null and void. The Court essentially affirms the possible nullity or annulment of the notarial deed of sale if it does not include even a building permit for the property.

This must make you even more aware of how important it is to carry out a preventive due diligence when you decide to put your property up for sale, in order to avoid the possible nullity or annulment of the deed of sale; a possibility that we repeat, following judgment 8230, could occur if the deed simply lacks even one authorization.

The same Court states that notarial deeds are considered valid if they indicate the details of the authorization (building permit and/or building license) provided, however, that such title actually exists and relates to the property to which the deed relates, even if it is subsequently discovered that the building had been constructed wholly or partially in breach of the authorization.

In the light of the above,
THE PROPERTY IS UNCOMMERCEABLE AND THE RELATED NOTARIAL ACT OF SALE IS NULL if:

– the vendor does not state in the deed under which title the property he intends to sell was built, taking care to indicate the full details of the title itself (e.g. the municipality that issued it, date and registration number);

– the seller declares that the property was built on the basis of a permit which is later shown to be non-existent or relating to a building other than the one sold.

Thus, the deed remains valid if the seller declares in the deed the particulars of the title under which the building was constructed, even if it is then shown that the building was constructed in a manner more or less different from that provided for in the title.

IF YOU WANT TO DISCOVER IN DETAIL THE FULL TEXT OF THE CASSAZIONE RULING 8230/2019 THEN CLICK HERE.

All of the above considerations and reflections lead us to a fundamental conclusion:

in order to ensure that a property sale is successful and not compromised by urban planning issues affecting the property, it is essential to carry out prior due diligence of the property.

It is essential that it is drawn up for any property offered for sale on the market:
through this document, all the checks relating to the urban, hypo-cadastral, and fiscal situation of the property will be carried out in order to ascertain its actual saleability.

An essential initial procedure that the Great Estate Group has been implementing for years, requiring each of its vendor clients to carry out prior due diligence on their property within 30 days of signing the sales order. If you would like to find out more, simply click here.

Read also:

The fundamental importance of a property Due Diligence during a negotiation

Due Diligence: the importance of the technical report of a property before its sale and purchase

Messrs. Rapi: the due diligence and international marketing plans importance