After long years of waiting, the decree-law that introduces greater protection for the purchasers of houses that are in the process of being built has finally been published in the Official Gazette (6 July 2005, n° 155). The measures introduced under this new law will have a major impact: indeed, according to estimates made by trade associations, since 1995 more than 200,000 Italian families have been involved in thousands of bankruptcies of construction firms.
Decree Law n° 122 of 20 June 2005, providing “Provisions for the protection of the financial rights of the purchasers of buildings in the process of being built, implementing Act n° 210 of 2 August 2004” which entered into force as of 21 July 2005, is undoubtedly not a simple provision; it is rich in content because it is not limited to making general provisions that envisage penalties for non-virtuous behaviour, but besides a range of rules of conduct that the seller must comply with, it lays down that the seller must provide surety bonds to protect the purchaser. This requirement is aimed not only at preventing the purchaser from losing the house that he wanted to purchase, but also at ensuring that money paid in advance can be recovered in case the seller were to experience critical circumstances (bankruptcy, distraint or other: article 1, paragraph 1c).
The individuals and categories of people affected by this Decree-Law are a great many because these new provisions address not only building firms and sales agents, but also technical people and professionals like notaries, lawyers, chartered accountants, book-keepers, land surveyors and in general the legal experts and consultants who operate in this sector.
Let us see in practice and very briefly what the main innovations of this Decree are; in particular how and when the new provisions apply and what main guarantees it provides.