Three years ago, a condominium consisting of more than two hundred apartments and commercial buildings was evacuated because it was deemed to be at “imminent risk of collapse.” So the renovation works begin with the Super Bonus of 18 million euros, with the myth that “they are already free”, but the desire for serious economic savings is replaced by a bitter truth: after three years, residents have to pay 866 thousand euros. They will be able to return to their homes. Added to the troubles, the expenses of spending three years away from home and another insult: the calculations predicting the risk of collapse were wrong. We are in Montesilvano, in the province of Pescara. From this condominium comes a representative story of the Super Bonus between created inconveniences for citizens and uncontrolled costs for the State.
Risk of a “catastrophic” collapse and destruction, or rather no: Super bonus work begins
The story begins in 2020. Renovation work in a nightclub on the ground floor reveals structural damage to the building: there are cracks in the arches of the load-bearing wall.
Thereupon, the apartment manager launches an investigation, and about a year later, a 252-page report arrives. It found “abnormalities attributable to possible changes that occurred during construction, which can only be confirmed by comparison with the original structural project.” However, the original documents are neither in the Pescara Governorate nor in the archives of the construction company. Inspection by the fire brigade confirmed that jointing work needed to be carried out.
The manager was not satisfied and assigned a new investigation to another engineer. The engineer was sentenced within days: the new report read that the building was at “catastrophic” risk of collapse and “must be evacuated immediately.” The same engineer recommended “immediate clearance,” “controlled demolition,” and the agency that could do all the necessary work: Superbonus. The report was sent to the mayor, who immediately issued an evacuation order.
According to the statements compiled by Today.it, the flat owners remain unaware of everything and only realize that they have to leave their homes by the mayor’s order. At the floor meeting held later, the manager explains that investigations have been carried out for a year and that consolidation work will be necessary. They will come thanks to the Superbonus along with other problems.
Exchange, work with Superbonus and costs increased tenfold
The Riviera 1 condominium council therefore approved a project that will make the structure safe. Cost: 1.8 million euros, to be financed by a 110 percent Supersima bonus. One of the two companies presented to conduct the study is large-scale, has industry experience and hundreds of employees, and the other is a recently established company with only one employee.
The works will start in February 2022 and the costs will increase tenfold: from the allocated 1.8 million euros, it will reach 18 million euros. The main statement made to the condominiums is the price of the materials, but on requests for information on policies, contracts and other issues. in the case of bailment, the condominium manager is not responsible. In the meantime, the building has been cleaned due to the second report prepared by the manager, on the instructions of the mayor of Montesilvano, Ottavio De Martinis. We have contacted the mayor and the administrator several times but have not received a comment on the subject.
But almost two months later, the same municipality of Montesilvano published a “Descriptive post-mortem report” revealing the Technical Office’s opinion on the work of the engineer that led to the evacuation. The decision regarding the building was overturned: “In fact, according to the results contained in the report, no credible, useful and necessary elements emerged to configure the danger of an imminent collapse of the building in question. […] “Considering the condition of the ground, it was not deemed acceptable by UTC in any way”.
The report said previous inspections were based on incorrect calculations: “There is no danger to the surrounding areas and surrounding buildings.” […]This is also due to the assessment that the stress actions at the bottom of the columns, as stated in the report, show values of 2,000 -2,500 KN, not 20,000 KN, as erroneously stated in the technical report.
So much so that, as can be seen in the photos we received above and easily verified on the municipality’s social pages, Montesilvano’s summer program events are also held regularly around the building. “There was no immediate risk of collapse, everything was going on under the building as if nothing had happened,” one flat owner told us. Part of the Italian triathlon championship course also took place less than 100 meters from the building. But the biggest joke is yet to come.
More money needed after three years of Superbonus: 866 thousand euros to return home
The works are finally delivered in December 2023, but the story is not over yet. “Before the Superbonus discount dropped, we were boasting about the work we had completed and that we would be back home in a few months – according to one resident. But in February, others emerged: rebuilding the storage tanks, relocating the electrical substation and gas. The company estimated that these jobs, divided per thousandths, were about He announced that it reached 866 thousand euros and that they did not include it in the bonus.
The situation is still as in the photo above, taken a few days after this article was published. Among the “surprises” of the final estimate was the lawyer’s fee: “Enel had asked for 60 thousand euros for the cabins to be moved, but we learned that it cost twice as much as the estimate, 120 thousand euros – a condominium, says the owner -. Then, as the municipality company said, even if there is no need to build a new one, 400 thousand more are needed for the storage tank and 400 thousand for the gas pipes. lawyer”.
“If you don’t pay, you can’t go home.”
Resident of apartment building “Riviera 1” in Montesilvano.
According to the condominium report, the lawyer was appointed “for urgent reasons” to replace the previous lawyer who left after the first tender. “However, the decision minutes stated that the legal expenses would be paid by the general contractor.” The total bill: 866 thousand euros is being paid by the condominium, which will be divided according to the quotas, and 425 thousand euros is being paid by the company. “They told us everything would be free, that they would rebuild the apartments, but they only acted on the foundations and now we have to pay 400 thousand euros to the lawyer. If you don’t pay, you can’t go back. Many of them reach into their wallets without objection to return to normal.”
38 million euros for a single flat: The latest craze of Superbonus
Flat owners cannot understand the costs, which have increased more than 10 times according to estimates: “My share is 6 thousand euros. How did we go from not even 2 million euros to 18 million euros? They were also aiming for the maximum.” We spent 96 thousand euros per house, the total cost was 23 million dollars. The documents were always hidden from us and even our lawyer could not get them. It’s like we have no idea what’s going on. There is a perception that if they did what they did and did it, everything from release to working with Superbonus had already been decided.”
And there is a risk of other problems in the future: “If the Revenue Office comes to carry out checks, we will have to pay the price: I will have to carry the sword of Damocles around my neck for another 8-10 years”, the fear of the condominium in Riviera 1 is the same as that of many other Italian residents .
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
