What the Building Compliance Report (RRE) is and why it can block the sale of your property
Among all the documents needed to sell a property, the Building Compliance Report — known in Italy as the RRE — is the one that most often slows down or blocks a transaction.
Not because it is difficult to understand, but because it is requested too late. Many owners only discover it when there is already a buyer waiting — and at that point any problem that emerges becomes urgent, costly and risky.
This guide explains what it is, how the process works, what it can cost and why it makes sense to deal with it early, not after the fact.
What the RRE is
The Building Compliance Report is a document prepared by a qualified professional — a surveyor, architect or engineer — that certifies the planning and building compliance of the property.
In practice it certifies that what physically exists corresponds to what was authorised: the same dimensions, the same internal layout, the same openings. Every modification made over time must have been properly notified and approved. If it has not, a discrepancy is recorded.
How the process works
The first step is to appoint a professional. The owner can choose one directly if they have someone they trust. Alternatively, we can take care of this: we work with local professionals who know the local procedures well.
The professional accesses the documents filed with the municipality — the original building permits, any amendments, the planning consents — and compares them with the current state of the property. If everything matches, the report is prepared and the process is complete. If discrepancies emerge, the professional explains to the owner what needs to be regularised and prepares a separate quote for the retrospective consent.
The owner decides whether to proceed. If they agree, the professional initiates the regularisation process.
What it costs
The cost depends on the complexity of the property and what the investigation reveals. As a rough guide, for the energy certificate and the compliance report together — if there are no discrepancies — a professional typically charges around 500 euros. This is a broad estimate: every case is different.
If discrepancies requiring regularisation are found, the professional provides a separate quote for the regularisation process. The cost varies considerably depending on the seriousness and type of work required.
The cost of the report is always borne by the seller.
How long it takes
The timing is the hardest part to predict. In the best case — documentation already available online, no discrepancies — it can be completed within a week. In more complex cases, with discrepancies to regularise and applications to submit to the municipality, it can take close to a year.
The Municipality of Sanremo, like many local planning offices, is not known for speed of response. The professionals we work with know this and factor it in from the outset.
This is the main reason why the report should be initiated before putting the property on the market, not after finding a buyer. If there is a problem, it is far better to discover it calmly — not with an open negotiation and a buyer waiting.
The most common discrepancies
The discrepancies that emerge most often are not major planning violations. They are minor modifications: an internal wall moved, a window or door not perfectly aligned with the original plans, a room whose use has changed over time.
What surprises many owners is that these discrepancies were often not created by them. They were created by whoever lived in the property before, or even by the original developer — who during construction modified something from the approved plans without submitting the relevant amendment. The current owner finds themselves having to regularise situations they knew nothing about.
This is not an exceptional situation. It is more common than people think, particularly in properties built between the 1960s and 1990s.
Why it is worth doing it straight away
Starting the compliance report before listing has a practical advantage: it allows you to know exactly the state of the property before it enters a negotiation.
If there are no discrepancies, you sell with greater confidence and can tell the buyer that the documentation is in order. If there are regularisable discrepancies, you have time to resolve them without pressure. If there are more serious issues, it is better to know in advance — to consider how to address them, not to discover them at the worst possible moment.
Want to know how much your property in Sanremo is worth?