Vademecum - Information on requests for inspections of private buildings in the Phlegraean Fields intervention area

• For buildings that consist of a single unit, requests are submitted by the owner, usufructuary, or a tenant designated by either.
• In apartment buildings, the request is submitted by the building manager.
• For buildings with multiple housing units that are not apartment blocks, the request must be submitted by a representative appointed by the owners.

Access to the platform is through SPID/electronic identity card.

Inspection requests are collected and organized periodically in the municipalities, with support from the Campania Region and the Civil Protection Department. This process is based on the priorities identified during the first assessments conducted in the intervention area. The results of these assessments can be viewed by scanning the QR code displayed here.

Therefore, individuals who submitted the request must await contact from the appropriate municipal offices to schedule the inspection date and time.

Inspections are carried out by expert teams and consist of a solely visual examination, meaning there are no instrumental checks of both the interior and exterior of the building.
During the inspection, a form must be completed to gather the building's primary typological and geometric details.
The person submitting the request may include one or more experts with extensive knowledge of the building being inspected. These experts may have been involved in its construction or subsequent renovation work, such as the designer, construction manager, site manager, or testing engineer.

To facilitate the inspection, it is essential to have access to all building units. At a minimum, access must be granted to at least 40% of the units, as well as to the basements, attics, and all common areas.

After the inspections and seismic vulnerability analyses are completed, the Municipalities must provide the results to the applicants. A copy of these results must be included with the subsequent contribution application; failure to do so will result in ineligibility.

• The methods and timing for applying for the contribution will be announced to citizens in the coming months;
• The presence of just one housing unit in a building used as a primary, regular, and permanent residence also allows the contribution to be granted to the other housing units within the same building. This applies even if those other units are used as non-primary residences or for purposes other than residential;
• The contribution is allocated for up to 50% of the eligible costs incurred. Detailed criteria for eligibility will be established by a special decree from the Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies. This contribution is provided net of any additional public contributions or compensation received for the same building and similar purposes from public administrations, which may include tax credits (for example, in the case of the so-called Sismabonus) or from insurance institutions;
• The contribution is granted if the buildings, at the time of the application, have a valid permit in accordance with the consolidated legislative and regulatory provisions on construction, as outlined in Presidential Decree No. 380 of June 6, 2001, and have been constructed in compliance with this regulation or have undergone regularization. Any construction or urban planning irregularities do not prevent the vulnerability assessment from being conducted. Conformity is only required at the time of the application, and citizens can arrange this according to the timeline provided by the municipalities.

The inspections for which requests can be submitted are unrelated to the effects of the seismic events that occurred on May 20, 2024. Therefore, these inspections are not intended to assess buildings' post-seismic fitness or unfitness. Additionally, they are not linked to requests for financial contributions associated with repairing and upgrading buildings damaged by that seismic event, as outlined in the Decree of the Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies dated December 13, 2024.

What it is

The seismic vulnerability of a building is one of three key factors that define seismic risk. The other two factors are the level of danger (which includes the frequency and intensity of earthquakes) and exposure (referring to the people, property, and activities that could be affected by an earthquake). Seismic vulnerability specifically refers to a building's structural inability to adequately withstand an earthquake. Generally, the more vulnerable a building is—often due to poor-quality materials used in its construction—the greater the expected damage during an earthquake. Historic buildings and those constructed under outdated regulations tend to be more vulnerable, making it crucial to assess their level of vulnerability.

How to assess it

The assessment of the seismic vulnerability of a building can be performed at different levels of accuracy and detail. The most accurate level is provided for the safety assessment according to the current technical standards (Technical standards for construction 2018).

This assessment is usually assigned to experts and requires a thorough analysis of the structure and the performance of instrumental investigations, which require considerable time and cost. Decree-Law 140/2023 foresees that the vulnerability of private buildings is analyzed using simplified procedures, which do not have the value of seismic verification within the meaning of the Technical standards (Article 2, paragraph 3, letter b). The assessment will be performed, free of charge, on all requested buildings. The outcome of the assessment provides for the assignment of vulnerability ranges according to the measurements of Ministerial Decree 65 of 07- 03-2017 (Annex A - Guidelines for the seismic risk classification of buildings).

How to reduce it

Various types of interventions can be implemented on a building to reduce its seismic vulnerability, depending on the desired level of safety and the techniques and technologies used. Current technical standards for construction outline the following alternatives: repair or local interventions (including local strengthening measures), seismic improvement, and seismic retrofitting. Often, small, targeted interventions can significantly enhance the safety of the building where someone resides.