Gilmozzi Law: checks begin to combat illegal construction

Provincial Law 16/2005, known as the Gilmozzi Law, is a regulation created to combat land consumption related to the construction of second homes in tourist-oriented municipalities in Trentino. Applauded by many and opposed by just as many, it has undergone some changes over time, for example, introducing the possibility of a change of intended use from existing buildings, on the condition that they are redeveloped from an architectural and energy point of view.

The first checks in Arco

Despite these openings, cases of illegal construction are increasingly widespread, particularly in some areas, where numerous homes openly used for tourist purposes are registered as a primary residence. This has triggered a real emergency, especially in the Busa del Garda, where residents—mainly young people and workers—struggle to find stable housing solutions precisely because existing properties are only used for a few months a year by tourists. For example, the newly-installed council of Arco, which has made this issue a major battle, has started the ball rolling and it is not ruled out that others may follow suit. In this phase, they started with the simplest verification: crossing the correspondence between the apartments assigned the CIPAT code (a unique code that identifies every tourist accommodation in Trentino and must be compulsorily declared during the promotion and marketing of the accommodation) and their classification in the land registry. In the event of a mismatch, door-to-door checks will be carried out to verify that ordinary residences are actually used as such.

The penalties provided

The violation of the ordinary residence requirement is far from irrelevant: fines of up to €15,000 are risked, in addition to the obligation to regularize the intended use of the property.