Planning Permission
Planning permission is a bit of a strange animal here in Italy and varies from region to region and even council to council. In Umbria it is almost impossible to build a new house on agricultural land and there are very strict rules about building anywhere. However, if there is an existing building, a ruin for example, then the
cubatura can be used and often moved to a better position elsewhere on the same land. The law actually says 'nearby', in typically Italian vagueness. Sometimes the footprint of the new building must overlap the footprint of the old one. It should also be possible to increase the size by 100m2 on most old properties but this would need to be verified by your
geometra with the
comune . Additionally you can build underground without affecting your cubatura quota, which is why so many new Italian houses have underground garages.
You will need to allow about four months to obtain planning permission. That is in addition to any time taken by the geometra to draw up the plans. Permission for 'maintenance projects', such as a new roof, will get cleared before 'enhancement projects', such as a swimming pool, and the smaller the comune the quicker the permission is granted usually. You will pay a tax on the later at 5% but maintenance is tax free.