Enclosing a terrace to create a new habitable space is an increasingly popular solution among property owners, due to the desire to optimize spaces and increase the size of their home.
A business that on the surface seems simple: the project is presented to the Municipality, permission is obtained and the work proceeds. However, obtaining municipal approval is by no means safe from legal consequences.
The CoE, with the no. 32187 of 2025, reiterated a fundamental principle that many owners ignore, often at great cost: the green light of the Municipality does not exclude the violation of legal distances from borders and neighboring buildings.
Legal distances: what the law says and why a municipal permit is not enough
The rules for the distances between buildings are determined by the Civil Code and mandatory state regulations. Article 873 of the Civil Code defines the minimum distance of three meters from the border, while Article 9 of the Ministerial Decision 1444/1968 imposes the absolute minimum distance of ten meters between the windows of the front buildings.
This latter rule, consistent with consolidated case law, has the force of state law and overrides any local regulation to the contrary. The crucial thing is that the building permit issued by the Municipality exhausts its legal relevance in the context of the relationship between private and public administration, without affecting the rights of the neighbors.
In other words, a project can be formally approved by the Municipality and, at the same time, violate the legal distancesexposing the owner to claims for construction delays or compensation for damages. The SC clarified that the conflict between the owners must be resolved by a direct comparison of the project’s characteristics with the distance rules, regardless of the existence of any building permit.
Surrounding wall or factory wall? A distinction that can be costly
Another aspect that is often underestimated concerns the legal nature of the wall being processed. Many owners believe that they are free to raise the wall that bounds a terrace, considering it a simple boundary wall, which is exempt from the calculation of legal distances when it does not exceed three meters in height.
However, the SC clarified that the boundary wall is exclusively that which is separated from any other structure, intended for the demarcation of the border. The low wall placed to delimit a terrace does not have these characteristics: it is an integral part of the building and, once it is raised beyond the three-meter threshold to enclose the terrace and create a new space, it becomes for all intents and purposes a factory wall.
From that moment, the obligations to observe legal distances come into forceand the neighbor has every right to demand compliance, being able to seek the removal of the walls or compensation for the damage suffered in court. Even the neighbor’s informal consent, such as simply signing a joint project, is not enough to remedy the situation: to waive the respect for distances a written deed is required, under penalty of nullity.
