Rising prices for construction materials continue: what to do if you want to renovate your house in Italy?

Renovating a house takes time, money... and a lot of patience. This last quality has never been more important than in the last year, due both to the difficulties in understanding the procedures necessary to obtain certain tax bonuses and the constant increases in the prices of building materials. However, having a good dose of patience can help to cope with unforeseen events and prevent them in the first place. Let's see why.

The rising cost of raw materials

When calculating your renovation budget, it is always a good idea to allow for an additional margin to cover any overruns or unforeseen events. 

Over the past year, however, the price of building materials has risen so rapidly that even construction companies have been caught off guard. According to the latest data from Meps (Management Engineering & Production Services, a worldwide agency specialising in steel market analysis) collected by Ance, the National Association of Building Contractors, "iron - steel reinforcing bars" a commonly used material, reached prices in November 2021 that represented a 226.7% increase over the previous year. And these increases are far from over: the increase in November compared to just the previous month is 11.4 per cent.

But it is not only steel products that are increasing. As pointed out by Ance in its latest report published in December, other materials of primary importance for the building industry have also recorded increases, such as polyethylene (69% for HDPE and 88.2% for LDPE), copper (40.2%), and diesel (106%), again in the same reference period between November 2020 and October 2021). Another material with a rising price is "bitumen", which on the basis of data from Siteb - Italian roads and bitumen - has risen by 29.4% between November 2020 and August 2021.

Forecasts for the coming months

Forecasts for the coming months, as reported in the recent Meps document "European Steel review" (November 2021), indicate a further increase in prices due, above all, to severe material shortages, resulting in long delivery times.

In summary, the trend for steel products is upward until the middle of next year. This trend is also affected by the recent increases in the costs of gas, electricity and scrap. As a result, prices will remain at historically high levels, and are only expected to fall from the end of 2022 onwards.

Those who intend to renovate their homes in the coming months, or are already doing so, must take into account not only the increase in costs, but also the difficulties in supplying building sites, given that, given the volatility of prices, manufacturers are not able to guarantee supplies within a time frame longer than 10/15 days.

Surge in inconvenience for consumers

Over the last few months, consumer rights associations have received numerous reports of price increases in contracts with companies, especially in the case of the supply and installation of building materials such as doors and windows.

The CRTCU - Centre for Research and Protection of Consumers and Users - in Trento has therefore decided to provide some advice to consumers, distinguishing between contracts already in progress and those to be concluded.

What you can do with existing contracts

If a contract has already been signed, the CRTCU invites you to check what type of contract it is (sale, building contract, etc.) and whether or not there are clauses allowing the company to change prices.

If there are clauses that allow the company to change prices, the consumer can try to negotiate the distribution of the increase in the amount of 50% for each, relying on the company's duty of fairness and the desirability of giving continuity to the contract.

If, on the other hand, the contract does not provide for a price increase, the consumer may, if necessary, terminate the contract on the grounds that it is too onerous, bearing in mind, however, that an exact quantification of the percentage increase entitling him to termination is not fixed in advance. Particular attention must be paid to the presence of any "vexatious" clauses.

Clauses that establish as the final price the price of the goods at the time of delivery or clauses that prevent the consumer from withdrawing if the final price is excessively high compared to what was originally agreed are null and void.

How to deal with new contracts

The CRTCU association suggests some clauses that can be included in contracts to avoid nasty surprises. Even if it is extremely difficult, especially in this period, one can try to ask for clauses excluding any increase in price: the amount of the consideration is understood to be fixed and invariable, so that no adjustments can be requested even in the event of extraordinary and unforeseeable events for any reason whatsoever resulting in an increase in the costs of carrying out the works and this in express derogation from the provisions of Articles 1467 and 1664 of the Civil Code.

Otherwise, and this is perhaps the situation to be preferred because it is simpler for both parties involved, the consumer is entitled to request the inclusion of clauses providing for the possibility of terminating the contract by obtaining the refund of any sums already paid if the increase exceeds a certain amount: the revision of the selling price agreed by the parties as a result of the variation in the cost of raw materials may not in any case exceed 10/20 per cent of the original price. If the price increase exceeds this percentage, the purchaser may terminate the contract, subject to reimbursement of the sums already paid to the other party without prejudice to compensation for any damages.