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

CILA: what is it, how does it work, costs, procedures and when is it mandatory?

My name is Elia Caneppele and I deal with doors, windows and buildings in general on behalf of the Windowo blog . Today I'm talking about CILA construction , a relatively new qualification of the Italian legal system.

Let's see what CILA is, when it is mandatory, what regulation does it rule and many other useful information for both individuals and professionals in the sector.

CILA edilizia - Notification of Certified Commencement of Works: what is it?

The CILA was introduced with law 73 of 2010 which amends art. 6 Presidential Decree 380/01 (Consolidated Building Act).

In other words, the Certified Commencement of Work Communication (CILA) is an administrative file that must be drawn up before the renovation of an apartment, office, shop or other building begins.

The CILA is a tool often used to remedy any irregularities and obtain building compliance.

CILA: when is it mandatory?

Generally speaking, doing the CILA is mandatory in the case of changes to interior spaces, the creation of bathrooms and system renovations.

For example in these cases:

• "light" extraordinary maintenance;
• restoration interventions;
• conservative rehabilitation interventions;
• removal of architectural barriers that do not alter the shape of the building;
• residual interventions (art. 6, 10 and 22 of Presidential Decree no. 380/2001).

The remaining cases concern the interventions that must be carried out with the other three options provided by the Italian legislator:

• Free construction (in case of ordinary maintenance no permit is needed);
• SCIA (Certified Start of Activity Report);
• PdC (Building Permit).

When is the Cila not needed?

Among the renovations that do not require any paperwork (free building regime): redo the electrical system, bathroom pipes or sanitary ware, paint the walls, make the false ceiling.

In other cases, instead of the CILA, the SCIA or the PdC may be necessary (see later in the article).

CILA: what does it contain?

The minimum contents to be attached to CILA, or those that cannot be missing, are:

• Communication signed by the owner;
• Technical report of certification signed by the designer;
• Project documents;
• Identity documents of the signatories;
• Payment of rights;
• Photos;
• Data of the executing company;
• DURC executing company.

The other possible attachments necessary depending on the case change according to the intervention to be carried out.

Where does CILA present itself?

CILA: how should it be presented?

CILA edilizia goes to the municipality, filling in the forms to be sent electronically to the municipal technical office.

There are 2 ways to do this:

• One-Stop Shop for Construction or SUE;
• e-mail or certified e-mail, attaching the documents.

CILA building: the drafting of the qualified technician

The CILA must be drawn up by a qualified technician, or a professional registered in a register (architect, engineer, surveyor or industrial expert).

The Technician, under his full responsibility, must certify that the works:

• comply with urban planning instruments;
• comply with the building regulations in force;
• are compatible with the seismic regulations;
• are compatible with the legislation on energy performance;
• do not modify any of the structural parts.

How much does CILA cost?

The cost of the CILA derives from preliminary and secretarial fees and from the fee of the technician who assumes the responsibility described above.

These are costs that change according to the region in which they are carried out but, above all, also according to the type of intervention to be carried out.

Please note that the cost of CILA depends a lot on the Municipality. For example, in Rome the cost is approximately 250 euros for secretarial fees, while in Milan the presentation is free. On average, the total cost of the CILA is equal to 1,000 euros.

CILA: mandatory notice of completion of works

Once the works have been completed, it will be necessary to present the documents necessary to carry out the cadastral update.

For this reason, the following must be attached to the communication at the end of the works:

• Certification of works manager certifying;
• DURC;
• Certificate of elimination of architectural barriers;
• Cadastral variation due to the intervention or declaration has not altered it;
• Material disposal documentation at an authorized landfill;
• BEE;
• Certification of compliance with passive acoustic requirements.

CILA for the renovation of an apartment

The CILA is widely used for the typical "renovation" of apartments.

When the distribution of the rooms is changed through the demolition and construction of partitions, extraordinary maintenance is carried out and the CILA must be presented.
On the other hand, when the finishes and coatings are replaced, even for large surfaces, it falls into ordinary maintenance, that is, in free building activity and therefore the CILA must not be presented.

For the CILA, the immediate silent consent is valid

Unlike the old DIA (Business Start Report), for which it was necessary to wait 30 days before starting work, with CILA the work can start immediately (from the day it is presented to the Municipality).

Start and close jobs correctly

• The work can begin as soon as the file is registered in the Municipality (without waiting for an answer);
• Then no other communications should be made, unless the subjects indicated in the initial CILA change;
• At the end of the work, the forms and any technical documents drawn up by the professional must be delivered.

CILA in amnesty and late CILA: what are the penalties?

In the case of carrying out interventions in which the CILA is mandatory, in case of non-presentation of the same, a pecuniary sanction is foreseen (amounting to 1000 €).

We speak of late CILA or Cila in amnesty when a late communication is presented, that is, when the intervention is already in progress. In this case the envisaged sanction is reduced by two thirds.

What is the difference between CILA and SCIA?

The difference between CILA and SCIA lies in the type of construction works:

• The SCIA must be requested for modifications to structural parts, works that transform the building substantially in a different way;
• The CILA must be requested for internal works that do not concern the structural parts.

I remind you that I have already done an article on SCIA construction . You can read it here on the Windowo blog.

For the sake of completeness, I inform you that there is also the PdC (Permission to build), used for new construction and urban restructuring.

When is CILA needed and when is SCIA needed?

The 2 points in common between CILA and SCIA are:

• Cancellation of waiting times to start work (you can start immediately after making the request);
• Need a qualified technician with digital signature to apply for submission.

For other home renovation themed articles you can look at the dedicated category in our blog.

I hope you found this guide on CILA useful, see you in the next article!