Define the flat and the finished result
An 80 m² label does not describe a renovation. Confirm whether it means measured internal floor area or the area used in a property advertisement. Record the number of bathrooms, the kitchen specification, retained doors and windows, and the rooms that will stay untouched. Give each bidder the same plan and revision date.
A commercial description such as ristrutturazione completa does not determine the legal classification. DPR 380/2001 article 3 distinguishes ordinary maintenance, extraordinary maintenance and other interventions. Ask the tecnico to classify the actual work. Moving a light partition, opening a structural wall and repainting a room have different design and procedural consequences, even when they appear in one quotation.
Draw the boundary between packages
Separate the building contract from owner purchases. State whether the apartment electrician provides the kitchen circuits and whether the kitchen installer only connects appliances. Specify who makes wall chases, closes them and restores the finish. Put each task in one package so that the gaps and overlaps can be checked before signing.
- Measure demolition, partitions, flooring and wall finishes separately.
- Distinguish rough plumbing from the supply and fitting of sanitaryware.
- Allocate waste, carrying, protection and cleaning once.
- List the furniture, appliances and fittings you will buy yourself.
- Keep design, site supervision, safety coordination and filing services outside the contractor subtotal unless expressly included.
Article 90 of D.Lgs. 81/2008 also places duties on the client. Discuss the actual companies, subcontractors and sequence with the professional when budgeting safety arrangements; a single commercial contract does not by itself describe who will work on site.
Use a complete funding example
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Protection, carrying and waste | 2 200 |
| Demolition | 3 800 |
| Partitions and local making good | 4 200 |
| Apartment water and drainage distribution | 5 700 |
| Apartment electrical work | 6 500 |
| Substrates, flooring and wall tiling | 7 800 |
| Bathroom products and fitting, excluding distribution above | 4 200 |
| Interior doors and specified joinery | 3 000 |
| Painting | 2 600 |
| Checks, finishing and cleaning | 2 000 |
| Building contract before IVA | 42 000 |
| Assumed building IVA 10% | 4 200 |
| Building contract including IVA | 46 200 |
| Owner kitchen furniture and appliances before IVA | 9 000 |
| Owner purchase IVA 22% | 1 980 |
| Owner purchases including IVA | 10 980 |
| Professional services: final invoice allowance | 5 200 |
| Procedural and access charges: provisional final allowance | 500 |
| Moving and storage: final allowance | 1 200 |
| Chosen reserve: 10% of gross building and owner purchases | 5 718 |
| Total funding before any tax deduction | 69 798 |
The €5,200 professional allowance is already a final amount: do not add professional contributions or IVA again. The €500 procedural allowance is not an official municipal tariff. Replace both with itemised proposals and confirmed charges. Kitchen and bathroom examples elsewhere in this series describe separate projects; they are not extra sums to add to this flat.
Check IVA before comparing totals
The February 2026 Agenzia delle Entrate guide, chapter 2 explains the reduced maintenance rate, limits for beni significativi, and exclusions including direct owner purchases and professional services. The contractor should show the applicable bases and rates. A supplier’s net price and a contractor’s tax-inclusive price cannot be compared without reconciling their scope and tax.
For this example, the contractor total is €577.50/m² including IVA, while complete funding is €872.48/m² after rounding. Both ratios describe the same invented scope with different boundaries. Neither is a measured market average. The Lombardy public-works price book can help a professional investigate defined work items; it is not a ready-made private-flat quotation.
Protect the reserve and the payment calendar
The reserve is money for unresolved risk, not permission to order extras. If an included gross allowance of €1,100 is replaced by an agreed selection of €1,650, the increase is €550. Using reserve leaves €5,168 unallocated while total funding stays €69,798; preserving the original reserve raises funding to €70,348. Adding the full replacement price would count €1,100 twice.
Match payment dates to the funds actually available. List deposits, progress payments, direct supplier orders and final professional invoices on one calendar. A future tax deduction is not cash for tomorrow’s invoice. Keep its possible value in a separate record after the taxpayer and eligible spending have been checked.
Finish with a decision-ready package
- Resolve the major survey questions and identify remaining unknowns.
- Issue one measured scope and product specification to all bidders.
- Reconcile each gross quotation, owner purchase and outside allowance.
- Confirm the local filing route through the tecnico and the current Milan SUE service.
- Agree a cash limit, chosen reserve, payment milestones and change procedure.
Keep the accepted version, selections and invoices together. Reno Pro can organise stages, materials, notes and recorded payments. The useful output is a scope you can fund and explain, with uncertainty visible before demolition begins.
Sources, date and scope
- Normattiva — DPR 380/2001, art. 3
- Agenzia delle Entrate — Ristrutturazioni edilizie: le agevolazioni fiscali, febbraio 2026 — copia PDF
- Normattiva — D.Lgs. 81/2008, art. 90
- Comune di Milano — SUE Impresainungiorno — pagina aggiornata 16 giugno 2026
- Regione Lombardia — Prezzario regionale dei lavori pubblici — edizione 2026
Checked on 19 October 2026. Examples concern a flat in Milan unless stated otherwise; check the actual work against the rules of your comune and region. Teaching figures are invented to explain the accounting, not market averages or an offer. Appropriate professionals establish tax eligibility, technical suitability and required filings. Where used, the February 2026 Agenzia delle Entrate guide is linked as a copy of the agency-authored document.