Homeowners claim €9 billion from Italy's building 'superbonus'

Italy launched the ‘superbonus 110‘ in May 2020 to restart a sluggish economy following the impacts of the pandemic, offering homeowners a tax deduction of up to 110 percent on renovation expenses.

Interest in the scheme has been high, with many property owners now facing delays and sometimes abandoning projects due to builder shortages and the complex bureaucracy required to access the scheme.

READ ALSO: Italy’s building bonus: Can you really claim back the cost of renovating property?

Critics have asked whether the superbonus has achieved its objectives of upgrading Italian property standards and boosting the construction sector.

But new figures from Italy's energy and development agency, ENEA, updated to the end of October 2021, show that investments in the superbonus are considerable.

Such government-funded building projects related to energy efficiency and anti-seismic interventions have amounted to more than 9.7 billion euros to date.

The findings reveal that on a national level, some 57,664 claims have been filed to access the superbonus and that over 6.7 billion euros have already been claimed for completed renovation works.

The 3 billion euros of difference are assigned for ongoing renovation works which have not yet been completed.

The regions filing for the superbonus the most include Lombardy in first place, claiming 1.5 billion euros of investment, followed by Veneto, Lazio and Campania.

Figures show that the demand for the superbonus continues to rise, as ENEA recorded an increase of 24.8 percent in claims filed between September and October.

Photo: Mattia Bericchia on Unsplash

Overall, some 69 percent of projects have been finished out of the total works started under this building incentive.

Data are also broken down for works on condominiums, single-family buildings, and independent building units.

READ ALSO:

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Condominiums accounted for almost 50 percent of the economic value of the scheme, with a total investment of almost 4.8 billion euros in this type of building.

Single-family homes accounted for the highest number of requests, with 29,369 claims filed so far worth a total of almost 3.1 billion euros.

Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who initially introduced the scheme, claimed that ENEA's figures show "growth, work and environmental sustainability", adding that the superbonus must be extended as "it is not time to slow down the restart of the country".

58 mila cantieri avviati, quasi 10 miliardi di euro di investimenti ammessi a detrazione: fatti, non parole. I dati @ENEAOfficial parlano chiaro: il #Superbonus significa crescita, lavoro e sostenibilità ambientale. Ora va esteso, non è tempo di frenare la ripartenza del Paese.

— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) November 3, 2021

Time is running out for owners of single family homes to access the superbonus, however.

The Italian government announced its raft of budget measures for 2022 at the end of October, including extensions to tax breaks for home renovations.

EXPLAINED: What changes in Italy’s new budget?

The superbonus scheme has been extended for condominiums until 2023, but for many homeowners hoping to claim it for their single family homes, deadlines are approaching.

The bonus is set to continue for the whole of 2022 for single family units, but with a serious caveat: you’re only eligible if it’s your first home and you have an ISEE (the social-economic indicator of household wealth) of 25,000 euros maximum.

From January 1st to June 30th 2022 it will not be necessary to comply with the ISEE limit.

If you don’t fall into this category, however, the deadline of June 30th 2022 remains.

That means there are potentially just 8 months to complete all building works as so far there has been no mention of being able to finish a project on a single family home already started after this date.

For condominiums benefitting from the 110 percent deductions until 2023, the bonus will then drop in stages – to 70 percent for 2024 and 65 percent for 2025.

Other building bonuses have also been rolled on but some have been slashed in terms of the amount available to claim, meaning budgets could change considerably for those planning to carry out works in 2022.

Are you using Italy's superbonus to renovate your property? Please get in touch or leave a comment below to tell us about your experience.

See more in The Local’s Italian property section.