Penny's activity

Ripatransone comes under San Benedetto health authority (AUSL 12 - Ascoli is AUSL 13) and not Ascoli Piceno Karen. The health authorities didn't used to correspond with the Provinces but some of that has changed a little. For example Amandola (where I used to live) was AP (AUSL 13) but is now under Fermo (AUSL 11).

I think it depends on where you are Ram. In Marche for example, taking out or changing your residency to a new comune does not mean you are regstered for TARSU. You have to go and fill their form in. Our Comune never sent us a bill at all despite me having filled their form in (first notification was from Equitalia) but then they didn't fine us either. In that case Noddy, how on earth can they bill you for a period when ICI was not payable on your main home? What is their reason - have they said? I wouldn't pay it if you had residency at the time. How can they take you to court if it wasn't even due? They have no cause. If you take it up with them and they don't back down then it mght be worth paying for a solicitor's letter pointing this out. Often that makes them take you seriously.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. This 12 month rule did not affect all of Marche, just Ascoli Piceno health authority.

I think you're stuck with the rubbish tax bill as it is your responsibility to register for it with the comune when you buy a property regardless of whether the house is being restored etc or whether you are living there. You might get a discount if it's being restored or you might not. It always seems unfair if you don't know about it but that is the way it works unfortunately. However, the ICI one makes no sense to me. Did you take out residency at the property? If so, from that day on then you didn't have to pay ICI. I can't see how they can bill you at all let alone send you a fine. However, your geometra would not be able to arrange your residency for you and you would have had to do that yourself. If you didn't take out residency, then yes it was always due (and you never get a bill) as it was a seconda casa. Nothing your geometra presented would make any difference unless you are referring to the discount for uninhabitable properties. If you are, then I would take that up with your geometra and ask for a contribution from him as he did not present the documents to the correct person and would definitely know where they should go. Did your accountant not arrange to pay it or mention it to you? If not, I would not be impressed with the accountant either and would ask him to take it up with the comune on your behalf. He might be able to negotiate a discount on the fine. I have to say the sums you mention seem huge to me but then I have a pretty modest property, so maybe not. The fines can be as much as 30% of the bill plus interest (usually pretty small) plus fees. The upshot is it doesn't sound like they did have the correct paperwork to be honest - ie: no residency at the property; no declaration of not being habitable; no statement from you saying you were now responsible for the rubish tax.

It depends. In Marche where I used to live they were only giving out tessera's that lasted 12 months at a time. You had to produce all your docs again in 12 months time to get the next 12 months. If you are not an EU citizen then it should correspond with the expiry of your permesso unless your health authority has the same rule that the one in Marche did of only granting 12  months cover at a time.

If you don't have a phoneline already (even a very old, non-funtioning one is good enough) then you must pay for a new connection which may or may not involve more poles. Only Telecom can give you a quote and they are notoriously slow. It will be a lot easier if the new connection does not cross anyone else's property - another delay while they get the neighbour's consent (or not). You'll have to contact Telecom to get them to come and give you a quote. If you apply for a new line online they will contact you. Good luck with it.

If your reception is crap then internet via the phone line is a much better option. Not everywhere had coverage from ADSL so you'll need to check a local phone number on the Telecom Italia site but if you are in Amandola town itself you'll be fine. I used to get up to 7Mb (in theory) but it was good enough fo me to work from and we could watch online telly up to 8pm when it dropped off a bit.

Sorry Rebecca, but you are incorrect. With my suggestions the walls do still breathe. That is the whole point. The specialist damp-proofing plasters are designed to allow that. That is why they take so long to dry out. The lime versions are used in many renovations of historic buildings both in the UK and Italy (including by the National Trust and Belle Arti). We actually used them in our own house where the bedroom and bathroom is part underground very successfully. Their main purpose is to neutralise the salts in the wall which cause the moisture to be sucked in and allow the moisture to be brought to the surface and expelled. Maybe you have just never come across them? Also, I did not suggest tanking the space at all. What my husband said is the only guaranteed way to have a dry space is to us a membrane and drain system which allows the wall to breathe and dribbles the moisture down the inside of the membrane and then allows it to escape out of the building via the drains. It is a matter of how much moisture are you happy to live with and what you want to use the space for. With some of the solutions you can plaster directly onto the membrane and not lose the space to an internal wall. If you are planning on using this void as a bathroom as the OP said then you will need a properly dry space and my OH's preferred solution is to leave a gap between the membrane and the plaster finish. As to whether you want to look at a "beautiful stone wall that could be centuries old" or "a horrible 'false' wall'" rather depends on how important having a dry space is! You won't be doing much looking at the old stone wall if you can't use the space because it is too damp to use. "going down the damp proofing route is a disaster for an old stone house where walls need to breath" - I completely agree that old stone walls need to breathe but I think maybe you are associating the term 'damp-proofing' with some very outdated chemical solutions that were very damaging to both stone and brick walls. Things have moved on substantially since then. I think my husband is qualified to comment on this too having beautifully renovated many stone barns in Yorkshire as a qualified tradesman, his own Georgian townhouse in Whitby and two stone houses here in Italy using lime plasters and wattle and daub where required and all over a career spanning more than 20 years :-)

On the site I use it says it should be EL for all entries. Presumably becuase the code that follows shows whether it is the 50% for the state or the comune: Tramite il menù a tendina selezionare una delle seguenti tre opzioni: EL, RG, ER. Esse indicano, rispettivamente, l'Ente Locale, la Regione, l'Erario e cioè lo Stato. Per quanto riguarda l'Imu, l'Ente Locale è il Comune; quindi, occorre selezionare la sigla EL.

There is an Internet point in The Game in Comunanza - just off the roundabout heading down the Valdaso. Otherwise Casa del Gelato in Amandola has a Wifi point (have to pay) or The Game II in tha piazza in Amandola has PC's you can use.