In principal, a planning permission is needed before starting any building work, which will alter the dimensions of the layout of a property. The best person to hand in such planning permission with the local community, is a local architect or geometra (surveyor).

The fee payable to the architect or geometra depends on the size and level of standard of the building project. To renovate a family home and employ a building engineer, the fee will be in the area of 5,000-9,000 €. The project and financial management will come to 3% - 5%of the overall building costs.

It takes between 2 – 5 months to obtain the planning permission. Once the planning permission has been granted, an urbanisation charge has to be made to the local community office. This charge is calculated by the qm living space and usage space. Taking the Dolceacqua area as an example, this will cost you 76€ per qm living space, 31.19€ per qm  usage space, plus 200-400 € arrangement fee.

The mere building costs for building a new house depend on the level of the overall finishing. The current price lies in the area of 2,200 for a good standard and 2,500€ per qm for building work of a high standard. The costs for landscaping and garden design and creating a driveway if required, are not included in this price estimate.