Usability: many people talk about it, but how many know what it really is?

I like to say that just as you need an identity card and tax code to identify a person, you need a land registry search, cadastral survey and certificate of occupancy to identify a property.

The land registry certificate provides information on the property from a tax perspective and, using assigned parameters, calculates the income on which taxes and duties are based.

The title deed provides information on the property, more specifically the various transfers of ownership, the assigned thousandths, easements, encumbrances in general such as mortgages, seizures, in short... the history of the property.

Today, we will focus on AGIBILITA' (usability), i.e. the document that classifies the property in technical and urban planning terms.

We will address the topic briefly and not in depth. It would take pages and pages to cover it fully. We will keep it simple enough to understand that it is necessary, very important and requires great attention.

Let's take the steps to build our house together.

We rely on a technician who draws up the project in compliance with the implementing regulations and municipal regulations.

The project is submitted to the municipality and reviewed by the relevant offices and technical bodies.

These offices may request corrections to ensure compliance with the regulations, prescribe corrections and request works aimed at improving the project itself and the integration of the building into the urban context, paying attention to its impact on the landscape.

In the end, if a favourable opinion is given, the house can be built.

Let's start the work.

They say that this is a difficult period, full of unexpected events, important decisions and choices, but after so many years, I still see it as one of the most creative, intense and satisfying moments for a person... stress aside.

When everything takes shape and the work is completed, the project manager delivers a series of documents certifying that the work complies with current regulations and requirements.

Then we move on.

A final test is carried out, for which a certificate is issued, the companies that carried out the installation of the systems issue their certifications, the works are certified and the official 'end of works' is communicated.

Each of these documents demonstrates the 'quality' of what has been achieved and contributes to the issuance of the fateful 'occupancy permit'.

This is why this document is required by notaries for the signing of the sale contract. This is why, when you want to sell your house, agencies ask you for this document.

I would like to briefly explain what happens with apartments in condominiums.

As with single-family homes, the construction of a condominium requires a similar process and the subsequent issuance of a certificate of occupancy at the end of the work. We will call this the original certificate of occupancy.

This is linked to the entire complex and issued at the 'origin' of its construction.

However, from this point onwards, each individual condominium owner may decide to carry out modification work on their apartment. Here too, the rules must be followed, which require the work to be entrusted to a technician and the necessary documentation to be submitted, including for any cadastral and land registry changes.

If the work involves the load-bearing structure, the addition of drains and therefore services, the occupancy certificate issued to the condominium will obviously no longer be valid for that apartment, and a new one will have to be requested and issued specifically for the apartment undergoing the work.

The Municipality of Trieste has made available a very useful and quick tool for checking occupancy certificates: Archiep allows you to enter the address of the property and check whether it is published on the portal.

It is the result of work carried out by the municipal archives, which began a few years ago and requires constant and continuous updates. You can imagine the volume of data to be checked and entered, but it is certainly a big step forward in terms of service to citizens, allowing you to print a document that has official value.

But the bottom line remains the same: rely on a technician and an agency that knows how to assess the property's situation comprehensively, in its entirety. The most complicated thing is checking that the land registry data matches the cadastral and urban planning data.

These are the parts that make up the whole. And here, the parts must 'match', and there is no quick portal for comparison, only the experience of a thinking mind.