Measuring Buildings in Italy
Property professionals may be familiar with the International Property Measurement Standards or particularly for UK practitioners, the RICS Code of Measuring Practice 6th Edition. But many looking at Italy for the first time will be confused by reported measurements.
The first thing to note is that these Standards are rarely used in Italy, at least intentionally. The reporting measurements in Italy is subjective and may vary according to the location and the extent to which international practice has been adopted.
It’s fairly straightforward for the measurements for an industrial building. But if you see a single area quoted for say, an office building of 5,000 square metres, assume that this is the gross built area to the external walls. That’s close to the definition of IMPS 1. But it might even include such things as; the roof if it’s flat, internal risers, external inspection corridors, upper floor atria, canopies and external parking and landscaping. You can’t be certain even that someone has even measured the areas. The figures might be taken from the original planning consent, or the tax rating (cadastre) for the property.
There some terms which are particular to the Italian market which you may encounter. “SLP - superficie lorda di pavimento” and “SL - superficie lorda” are areas referenced in planning consents. Definitions depend on the use type and may vary from comune to comune but they broadly relate to a gross area above ground.
You might also see reference to a “commercial area”. There is no hard and fast definition of what this is, but it is usually the sum of different area types, weighted for their respective rental values. The benefit is that it allows an easy calculation of the overall market rent by multiplying the commercial area by a rent per square metre. It makes for easy comparison between buildings. However, it’s very much a subjective assessment, both in what areas are included and also the weight to be applied.
Sometimes the “lettable area” or the “gross lettable area” will be stated. This might be something between an IMPS 2 and an IMPS 3. So, measurements might be taken to the external face of the outside wall, or occasionally, the mid point of an external wall. It will include internal structural columns and toilets, lobbies and storage space. It probably won’t include vertical circulation like stairs and lifts, but some local markets still would apply this, especially if the occupier has exclusive use.
Ideally, you should be presented with a table breaking down the areas by use and floor, without any weighting. Many properties will have an up to date set of scaled digital architectural drawings so checks can be made. But don’t expect checks to be made on site with a laser or other measuring instrument.
The point of this lack of clarity is most likely to confuse the purchaser, or the tenant, in an attempt to secure a higher price. The Italian civil code does provide for some remedy for a purchaser, according to whether the property is sold as a whole (vendita a corpo) or on the basis of its area (vendita a misura) with a tolerance of 5%. However, reliance on the application of that rule, in a sale contract, is an uncertain and potentially expensive alternative to proper preparation at the outset.
Olmo provides a full property measuring service and can advise on all aspects relating to building and site measurement.
May 2023