Distanze Legali tra Costruzioni: The 3 Metre Rule, and When 10 Applies
Distanze legali costruzioni is the Italian search for a simple question: how close can a neighbour build to your property, or to your existing building? Two separate rules answer it, and the confusion most searchers run into is treating them as one rule instead of two.
The civil code sets a general floor of 3 metres between buildings that are not joined together. A separate national planning rule sets a stricter, non-derogable minimum of 10 metres in a narrower situation: new construction facing a windowed wall. This page covers both, and what a local comune can and cannot change.
Information verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for an individual situation.
The general rule: 3 metres between non-adjoining buildings
Art. 873 c.c. states it directly: constructions on neighbouring plots, where they are not joined or attached, must be kept at a distance of not less than three metres, and local regulations can set a greater distance. The rule runs between the two constructions themselves, on facing plots, and it is a floor rather than a target: a comune's own regolamento edilizio is free to demand more, for instance a distance measured from the property boundary rather than from the other building, but it cannot validly permit less than the code's three metres.
The rule only reaches buildings that are not unite or aderenti to each other. Where two buildings are deliberately built joined or attached along a common boundary, art. 873 c.c. does not apply to that shared wall at all; different civil code provisions on party walls and comunione forzosa govern that situation instead.
Why a 10 metre figure also gets quoted
A second, separate rule sits alongside art. 873 c.c. and answers a narrower question. D.M. 2 aprile 1968, n. 1444, the national decree setting non-derogable limits on building density, height and distance for local urban planning, requires at art. 9 an absolute minimum distance of 10 metres between a parete finestrata, a wall with a window, and the wall of a facing building, for new construction outside a zona A historic centre. Courts have consistently treated this as a floor a municipal plan cannot lower, and it applies once either of the two facing walls carries a window, not only where both do.
Because the two rules answer different questions, an owner comparing a neighbour's project against art. 873 c.c. alone can reach the wrong conclusion. Where a new construction faces an existing windowed wall, the 10 metre planning minimum is generally the one that controls, over and above the code's 3 metre figure. Which rule ultimately governs a specific project also depends on the zone classification and the local piano regolatore, so the comune's own regulation is the source to check for a specific site rather than either national rule in isolation.
What happens if a construction violates the legal distance
An owner whose neighbour builds in breach of the applicable distance, whether the 3 metre civil code minimum or a stricter local or planning figure, is not limited to a claim for money damages. The remedy Italian courts apply is to order the offending construction, or the part of it that intrudes into the protected distance, set back or demolished so the lawful distance is restored. Because these disputes usually turn on the rule and the local regolamento in force when the building went up, it is the construction date, not the date of the dispute, that generally fixes which figure applies.
See also
For the parti comuni and the roles that govern a shared building generally, see our condominio overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the legal distance between two buildings in Italy?
The general civil code minimum is 3 metres between buildings on neighbouring plots that are not joined to each other, under art. 873 c.c. A local comune's regolamento edilizio can require more, and for new construction facing an existing windowed wall outside a historic centre, a separate national planning rule sets an absolute minimum of 10 metres.
Does the 3 metre rule apply to attached buildings?
No. Art. 873 c.c. applies only where the buildings are not unite or aderenti, meaning not joined or attached to each other. Buildings built against one another fall under separate rules on shared walls rather than this distance requirement.
Why do some sources say the minimum distance is 10 metres, not 3?
Because two different rules exist side by side. Art. 873 c.c. sets the general 3 metre civil code minimum between buildings. Separately, national planning law, D.M. 2 aprile 1968, n. 1444, art. 9, requires an absolute minimum of 10 metres between a windowed wall and a facing building for new construction outside historic centres, and this stricter planning rule normally controls where it applies.
Can a comune set a distance smaller than 3 metres?
No. Art. 873 c.c. lets a local regolamento set a distance greater than 3 metres, never a lesser one. The 3 metre figure is a floor a municipality cannot reduce.
What can I do if my neighbour built too close to my property?
An owner affected by a construction that breaches the applicable legal distance can ask a court to order the offending part of the building set back or demolished to bring it within the lawful distance, rather than being limited to a claim for money damages.
Does a later, stricter distance rule apply to a building that already exists?
Generally no. A distanze legali dispute is decided under the rule and the local regolamento edilizio in force when the building was constructed, so an existing building is not automatically made unlawful by a rule adopted afterward.