Property Law in Italy.

Acquisition & Disposal

The acquisition or disposal of a property in Italy should be prepared legally before binding declarations are made or substantial payments are effected. Particular importance already attaches to the purchase offer (proposta d’acquisto) and the preliminary contract (contratto preliminare, often called compromesso). A proposta d’acquisto accepted by the seller may already give rise to a binding preliminary contract. In addition, deposits must be distinguished in law according to whether they are paid, for example, as a caparra confirmatoria or as a mere acconto prezzo.

I assist with property purchases and sales from legal due diligence through the review and negotiation of the contractual documents to the notarial deed of sale (rogito). This includes in particular the review of ownership, chain of title and encumbrances in the registri immobiliari, the analysis of the cadastral documents, the legal review of the building and planning law situation and of any rights of pre-emption, and the tax framework of the transaction.

Letting & Leasing

The letting of property in Italy is subject to different civil, administrative and tax law rules depending on the type and duration of use. A distinction must be drawn in particular between residential and commercial tenancies, tourist lettings and locazioni brevi and – depending on the subject matter – usufructuary leases and leases of a business.

I advise on the drafting and review of the relevant contracts and on the public law requirements for tourist and short-term lettings. These include in particular the Codice Identificativo Nazionale (CIN), regional and municipal registration and notification procedures, the reporting of guests and the statutory safety requirements. Where tourist or short-term letting is carried on as a business, the trade law requirements applicable to it, in particular the SCIA, must also be taken into account.

My advice further covers the tax classification of rental income and – where the relevant requirements are met – the cedolare secca as a substitute tax regime. Special requirements, which have been amended repeatedly, apply here to locazioni brevi; since the 2026 tax year, this regime has been applicable only where no more than two dwellings are let in this way.

Planning & Construction

Construction, conversion and renovation projects in Italy as a rule involve public building law, contract law and questions of building-law compliance. Even before a project begins, it should be clarified which building-law procedure is required, what the underlying lawful state of the building is and how planning and execution are to be secured by contract.

I advise on building-law procedures and titles – in particular permesso di costruire, SCIA and CILA – on the legal classification of existing deviations and regularisation procedures, and on the drafting and review of contracts with architects, engineers and building contractors. The technical comparison of the actual state of the building with the approved documents is carried out in cooperation with qualified technical experts. The principal basis of national building law is in particular D.P.R. 380/2001.

For projects in Lombardy and at the Northern Italian lakes, I can draw on an established network of local technical experts and other specialists.

Commercial Investments

Commercial property investments in Italy as a rule require a coordinated assessment of property law, corporate law, tax law and public building law. Depending on the investment objective, the direct acquisition of the property (asset deal), the acquisition of a property-holding company (share deal) or a separate project company may in particular have different legal and tax consequences.

I assist with the structuring and due diligence of commercial property transactions, the acquisition and disposal of properties and shareholdings, commercial tenancies and usufructuary leases, and building and planning law questions in development projects. Areas of focus are in particular investments in hospitality and tourism, retail, office, industry and logistics, and the out-of-court and judicial enforcement of property-related claims.

Tax Law

The acquisition, use and disposal of a property in Italy may trigger different tax consequences. The decisive factors are in particular the type of property and of transaction, the person and tax residence of the owner, and the specific use of the property.

I advise on the tax framework for property acquisitions, in particular on imposta di registro, IVA and mortgage and cadastral taxes, on recurring charges such as IMU and TARI, and on the taxation of rental income including the cedolare secca, where its requirements are met. In the event of a disposal, it must be examined in particular whether a taxable plusvalenza immobiliare arises and which form of taxation applies. For certain taxable gains on the disposal of property, a substitute tax of 26% may apply upon request to the notary.

In cross-border situations, tax residence, the allocation of taxing rights under the applicable double taxation treaty and the treatment of the Italian income in the state of residence must also be taken into account. Where necessary, I work with specialised tax advisers.

Inheritance Aspects

Properties in Italy frequently form part of cross-border estates. A distinction must be drawn here between the law applicable to the succession and the specific tax, register and property law requirements in Italy.

Under the EU Succession Regulation, succession is in principle governed by the law of the state in which the deceased had his or her habitual residence at the time of death. By a choice of law, the law of the state whose nationality the deceased possesses may in principle be chosen. This law governing the succession applies in principle to the succession as a whole; the mere fact that a property is situated in Italy therefore does not automatically lead to the application of Italian succession law.

Irrespective of the applicable succession law, Italian properties raise separate questions of Italian inheritance tax, the declaration of succession and implementation in the cadastre and the property registers. For successions opened since 1 January 2025, Italian inheritance tax is in principle calculated and paid by the taxpayers themselves.

I advise on determining the applicable succession law and on the choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation, on the administration of Italian property estates, on communities of heirs and their partition, and on the transfer or disposal of inherited properties. The tax and register law consequences in Italy are taken into account from the outset.

Regions of activity in Italy

I handle property law mandates throughout Italy – with a focus on Northern Italy. I regularly work at the Northern Italian lakes (Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore, Lake Iseo, Lake Varese, Lake Lugano/Ceresio), throughout Lombardy, in Piedmont and Veneto, and in Milan and Turin. In addition, I advise on acquisitions and shareholdings in Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Apulia and Sicily.

I work with clients from Milan, from Lake Como or from Cologne – in person on site or digitally, in German and Italian.

How Italian property law differs from German law

Anyone coming from Germany almost automatically carries the familiar procedures over to a property purchase in Italy: land register (Grundbuch), notary, declaration of conveyance (Auflassung). At several points, Italian law follows a different system – and that is precisely where the typical misjudgements of German buyers arise. The most important differences at a glance; the details are set out in the sections that follow.

Transfer of ownership: agreement instead of registration

Under German law, the buyer becomes the owner only upon registration in the Grundbuch. In Italy, under the principle of consenso traslativo, ownership in principle already passes with the valid contractual agreement (Art. 1376 c.c.); Italian law has no act of transfer in rem corresponding to the Auflassung. The subsequent trascrizione in the registri immobiliari does not create ownership but secures the legal position vis-à-vis third parties – in particular priority over competing purchasers.

No Grundbuch: Conservatoria and Catasto

A land register carrying public faith, which enables acquisition in good faith solely on the basis of the state of the register, is unknown to the general Italian system. The Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari is organised by person: searches start from the person of the right holder. This must be distinguished from the Catasto, which primarily records technical and tax data and proves neither the ownership position nor registered encumbrances. A reliable review therefore as a rule requires both levels.

The notary is neutral – your own lawyer represents you

The Italian notary is an independent and impartial public official: the notary notarises the transaction, checks legal admissibility and carries out the checks required to implement it, but does not represent the buyer’s interests. The estate agent, too, is focused on brokering the transaction. There is no statutory obligation to engage a lawyer of one’s own – but only such a lawyer reviews the acquisition exclusively from the purchaser’s perspective, ideally before a proposta d’acquisto or a contratto preliminare is signed.

Early commitment: purchase offer, preliminary contract and deposit

Unlike under German law, where the parties become bound only upon notarial recording, in Italy a proposta d’acquisto accepted by the seller may already give rise to a binding preliminary contract. The contratto preliminare (often called compromesso) is binding and as a rule involves a substantial deposit; in law, a distinction must be drawn as to whether it is paid as a caparra confirmatoria or as a mere acconto prezzo. The legal review therefore belongs before the first signature, not before the notarial appointment.

Building-law compliance as a buyer’s risk

Building-law irregularities (abusi edilizi) are among the most frequent and most consequential risks when acquiring property in Italy. An up-to-date cadastral floor plan does not prove that a building or a later alteration was authorised under building law – the cadastre does not legalise an unauthorised state of the building. A subsequent owner, too, may be confronted with questions of regularisation, reinstatement or demolition. Inspection of the municipal building files and the technical comparison with the actual state of the building are therefore part of any robust due diligence.

Warranty for defects: short time limits

The seller is liable for latent defects under Art. 1490 et seq. c.c.; the buyer must prove the defect. The statutory time limits are considerably shorter than the limitation periods under § 438 BGB: notification within eight days of discovery, assertion in court within one year of handover (Art. 1495 c.c.), subject to the statutory exceptions.

Forced heirship and gifted properties

In Germany, the compulsory portion (Pflichtteil) is purely a monetary claim against the heirs. Until now, Italian law allowed recourse in rem against third-party purchasers in the case of gifted properties (azione di restituzione) – one reason why banks frequently refused to finance gifted properties. With the reform under Art. 44 of the DDL Semplificazioni (2025), this action has been largely abolished as against purchasers for value whose acquisition has been duly transcribed; forced heirship protection takes the form of a monetary claim against the donee. In the case of successions already opened, the transitional period and registered oppositions remain to be examined.

Transfer of ownership and the register system

Anyone acquiring a property in Germany thinks in separate steps: the purchase contract under the law of obligations, the agreement in rem and registration in the Grundbuch. Italian law follows a different system.

Under the principle of consenso traslativo, where a purchase contract has been validly concluded, ownership in principle already passes with the contractual agreement (Art. 1376 c.c.). Italian law has no additional act of transfer in rem corresponding to the German Auflassung. However, contracts for the transfer of ownership of immovable property are subject to the written form requirement under Art. 1350 c.c. The notarial deed of sale customary in practice, the rogito, at the same time creates a title suitable for the subsequent entry in the registers.

Entry in the property registers accordingly also has a different function from entry in the German Grundbuch. The trascrizione in the registri immobiliari does not in principle create ownership but secures the legal position vis-à-vis third parties. In particular, it determines priority over competing purchasers and rights registered later. Prompt registration after the rogito is therefore not a mere formality but an essential part of handling the transaction safely.

A preliminary contract can also be registered. The trascrizione del preliminare under Art. 2645-bis c.c. protects the purchaser in particular against dispositions and entries made subsequently. The prerequisite is a title capable of registration: for this purpose, the preliminary contract must in particular be contained in a public deed or in a private deed with authenticated or judicially established signatures. A preliminary contract in merely private written form may be valid but does not confer this special protection under register law.

If a validly transcribed preliminary contract fails, the purchaser’s resulting claims enjoy, subject to the requirements of Art. 2775-bis c.c., a special real-property privilege over the property that is the subject of the contract.

Conservatoria and Catasto: two different systems

The Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari is not equivalent to the German Grundbuch. The Italian register system is in principle organised by person: searches start from the person of the right holder and from there trace the registered acquisitions and encumbrances. The general Italian system does not recognise public faith comparable to that of the German Grundbuch, with the possibility of acquisition in good faith solely on the basis of an incorrect state of the register.

The Catasto must be strictly distinguished from the property register. It primarily records technical and tax data on the property, in particular the cadastral identification, category, floor plan and rendita catastale. Recording in the cadastre replaces neither the review of the ownership position nor the review of the mortgages, attachments, easements and other rights entered in the property register.

Anyone wishing to review the legal situation of a property therefore as a rule needs both levels: the cadastral documents for the technical and tax classification and the registri immobiliari for ownership, chain of title and encumbrances.

The continuità delle trascrizioni is of particular importance here. The chain of entries in the register must be traceable through the previous right holders. If the transcription of a prior acquisition is missing, the subsequent entries do not, for the time being, produce their effect under register law; the missing continuity must therefore be established before a later purchaser can reliably rely on his or her position in the register.

In the territories in which the sistema tavolare or libro fondiario, which resembles the Grundbuch, continues to apply, principles that in part differ from these apply.

Building and planning law compliance

Building-law irregularities are among the most frequent and at the same time most consequential risks in property acquisitions in Italy.

The term abuso edilizio is used where a building or a structural alteration is not covered by the building-law regime required for it. The spectrum ranges from minor deviations and statutory building tolerances through parziali difformità to variazioni essenziali, that is, essential deviations from the approved project, and to construction without the required building title. The governing legislation is in particular the Testo Unico dell’Edilizia, D.P.R. 380/2001. Art. 32 expressly treats the variazioni essenziali as essential deviations; their more precise definition is, within the statutory framework, also a matter for regional law.

Depending on the nature and extent of the works, the building-law regime ranges from CILA and SCIA to the permesso di costruire. What matters is not the name of the document but whether the correct procedure was followed for the works actually carried out and whether the actual state of the building is covered by it.

A further aspect is the destinazione d’uso. Even a property that is structurally unaltered may be legally problematic if its actual use does not correspond to the permitted designated use. An unauthorised change of use may trigger separate building-law consequences, sanctions and – depending on the case – additional contributions.

Planning and cadastral conformity

For the acquisition, two levels must be kept apart.

The conformità urbanistica concerns the question whether the actual state of the building is covered by the relevant building and use titles. The conformità catastale, by contrast, concerns the correspondence of the cadastral data and of the floor plan filed with the cadastre with the actual condition.

Both are important, but they are not the same. An up-to-date and apparently accurate cadastral floor plan does not prove that a building or a later alteration was properly authorised under building law. The cadastre does not legalise an unauthorised state of the building.

For the transfers covered by Art. 29(1-bis) L. 52/1985, the deed must contain in particular the cadastral identification, the reference to the filed floor plan and a declaration that the cadastral data and floor plan correspond to the actual condition. Subject to the statutory requirements, the declaration may be replaced by a certificate from a qualified technical expert. In addition, the notary verifies that the holder recorded in the cadastre corresponds to the results of the property registers.

However, lawfulness under planning law must not be equated with the validity of the purchase contract under civil law. According to the case law of the Joint Divisions of the Corte di Cassazione, the nullity rule in Art. 46 D.P.R. 380/2001 is designed as a nullità testuale. If the deed contains the statutorily required particulars of a building title that actually exists and relates to the property, a substantive deviation of the actual state of the building from that title does not for that reason alone lead to the nullity of the purchase contract. This does not mean that the deviation is without legal consequences; rather, it remains a separate building-law and economic risk.

For precisely this reason, the review should not end with the visura catastale and the floor plan. What is required as a rule is inspection of the municipal building files and a comparison of the documented permit situation with the actual state of the building.

Stato legittimo, Sanatoria and Condono

For the review, the stato legittimo dell’immobile under Art. 9-bis D.P.R. 380/2001 must be reconstructed. The decisive elements are the relevant building titles and the further documents that the law takes into account in determining the lawful state of the building. The Decreto Salva-Casa has substantially changed this system as well as the rules on building tolerances and on subsequent regularisation.

The condono edilizio must be distinguished from the regularisation available on an ongoing basis. The condono is based on special statutory amnesty provisions; at national level, such provisions existed in particular in 1985, 1994 and 2003. In the case of older properties, it is not uncommon to find only the original application or a record of payment. That in itself does not yet mean that the state of the building has been conclusively regularised. What matters are the specific status of the proceedings and the legal effects of the procedure in question.

In the case of subsequent regularisation under D.P.R. 380/2001, a distinction must be drawn in particular between the different situations covered by Art. 36 and 36-bis. Different requirements apply depending on the nature and timing of the deviation. Since the amendments made by the Decreto Salva-Casa, the blanket statement that every sanatoria always requires the classic double conformity in unchanged form is no longer accurate.

For the purchaser, building-law irregularities may have considerable consequences. A subsequent owner, too, may be confronted with property-related questions of regularisation, reinstatement or demolition. In addition, there are possible restrictions on use, financing and resale.

A robust due diligence therefore combines the technical review by a geometra, architect or engineer with the legal assessment of the deviations identified and of how they are secured contractually. As a rule, the agibilità and any landscape, heritage, hydrogeological or other public law restrictions that do not reliably emerge from the cadastre and the property register alone must also be examined.

Buying from a developer

The acquisition of a property yet to be built may be subject to special protective provisions in Italy. The central legal basis is D.Lgs. 122/2005. Its scope of application must, however, be examined in the individual case: as acquirente, the statute in principle covers the natural person; as immobile da costruire, in particular a property for which the application for a building permit required by the statute has been filed and whose construction has not yet been completed to the point at which the agibilità required by the statute can be obtained.

Where the protective regime applies, it already covers the preliminary contract and the payments made before the transfer of ownership. Special requirements as to form and content apply to the contracts covered by the reformed system; the preliminary contract is executed as a public deed or as a notarially authenticated private deed and is thereby at the same time subjected to notarial scrutiny. The precise temporal scope of the stricter rules applicable since 2019 must be determined by reference to the specific building project.

Fideiussione

The fideiussione is of central importance. It serves to secure those payments which the purchaser makes to the developer, within the statutory scope of application, before the final transfer of ownership.

The surety is intended to prevent these amounts from being lost unsecured if a statutorily defined crisis of the developer occurs. It must therefore not only actually exist but also meet the statutory requirements and properly secure the payments covered. The statute attaches to the absence of the prescribed surety a consequence of nullity framed in favour of the purchaser.

Particularly where larger advance payments are involved, it should therefore be checked before payment whether the fideiussione is formally valid, has the correct scope of security and corresponds to the prescribed statutory model.

Polizza decennale

At the final transfer, the polizza assicurativa indennitaria decennale is added. Within the statutory scope of application, the developer must provide the purchaser with a ten-year insurance policy covering certain material damage resulting from total or partial collapse and from serious construction defects.

The polizza decennale thus fulfils a different function from the fideiussione: the surety protects the payments made before the transfer of ownership against the crisis of the developer covered by the statute; the insurance concerns certain serious damage to the completed building.

Liability for construction defects

This must be distinguished from the statutory liability under Art. 1669 c.c. for rovina and gravi difetti. In the case of structures intended to last for a long time, it applies if the serious defects covered by the statute become apparent within ten years of completion. The denuncia must be made within one year of discovery; the claim becomes time-barred within one year of the notification.

In addition, there is the seller’s general liability for material defects under Art. 1490 et seq. c.c. It may become relevant, for example, in the case of structural defects, damp or other defects present at handover. The statutory time limits are short: in principle eight days from discovery for the notification of defects and one year from handover for assertion in court, subject to the statutory exceptions.

Special tax features

In tax terms, too, an acquisition from a business may differ considerably from a purchase from a private individual. Whether the disposal is subject to IVA depends in particular on the person of the transferor, the type of property, the time of completion and, where applicable, an option to tax for VAT purposes.

If the acquisition of a residential property is subject to IVA, the rate is, depending on the requirements, in particular 4% for a tax-privileged acquisition as prima casa, 10% in the standard case and 22% for certain properties classified as particularly high-end. In the typical acquisitions of residential property subject to VAT, the imposta di registro and the mortgage and cadastral taxes are in principle charged as fixed amounts of €200 each.

The tax treatment should therefore be clarified before a binding purchase contract is concluded and not be inferred solely from the seller being described as a ‘developer’.

Apartment ownership – Condominio

Anyone acquiring an apartment in an Italian multi-unit building as a rule does not buy only his or her own unit. Linked to it is, at the same time, a share in the common parts of the building.

The condominio is governed by Art. 1117 et seq. c.c. The common areas may include in particular load-bearing parts of the building, stairs, the roof, lifts, technical installations and courtyard areas. Particularly in the case of balconies, terraces, roof areas or courtyards, the delimitation between exclusive ownership and common parts may depend on the specific structural and legal configuration.

Tabelle millesimali

Participation in the condominio is as a rule expressed through the tabelle millesimali. The thousandth values are relevant in particular for the allocation of common costs and for decision-making within the community of owners.

Amending them in principle requires unanimity. However, Art. 69 disp. att. c.c. permits, in particular in the case of errors and of certain significant changes in the relative values, a correction by the qualified majority provided for there.

For the buyer, the tables are therefore not a mere formality. They provide an essential indication of the future share in ongoing and extraordinary costs.

Amministratore and owners’ resolutions

Where more than eight apartment owners (condomini) are involved, Art. 1129 c.c. provides for the appointment of an amministratore di condominio. The latter carries out the day-to-day administration, implements the resolutions of the meeting, manages the common funds and represents the condominio within the limits of his or her statutory powers.

For a purchaser, the minutes of the most recent owners’ meetings are of interest in particular. They frequently reveal information that appears neither in the sales particulars nor in the cadastre or the property registers: planned façade or roof works, lift refurbishments, major repairs, legal disputes or substantial payment arrears.

Voidable owners’ resolutions may in principle be challenged by the owners entitled to do so within thirty days; the start and calculation of the period depend in particular on whether the owner attended the meeting. Void resolutions must be distinguished from these voidable resolutions.

Extraordinary measures that have already been resolved or are specifically foreseeable may be economically significant. Before the acquisition, it should therefore be clarified, and clearly provided for in the purchase contract, who bears special levies that have already been resolved or have yet to be settled.

A further aspect is the purchaser’s statutory liability: anyone who succeeds to the rights of an apartment owner is jointly and severally liable to the condominio, together with his or her predecessor in title, for the contributions of the current year and the preceding year (Art. 63 disp. att. c.c.). An up-to-date confirmation from the amministratore of the status of contributions therefore as a rule forms part of a careful review.

Finally, the regolamento condominiale must be inspected. In particular, a regolamento di natura contrattuale may contain far-reaching restrictions on use. Whether and to what extent such provisions also bind a later purchaser must be examined on the basis of the titles of acquisition, the specific content and, where applicable, publicity through the registers.

If essential documents of the condominio are not made available before the acquisition, or only incompletely, this should not be treated as a minor matter.

Cross-border legal questions and enforcement

In the case of a property situated in Italy, the legal position in rem is in principle governed by Italian law. Ownership, mortgages and easements are subject to the lex rei sitae, that is, the law of the state in which the property is situated.

A contractual choice of law does not in principle alter this. It may cover the relationship under the law of obligations between the parties, but not, without more, the allocation in rem of an Italian property.

The international jurisdiction of the courts must be distinguished from this.

Under the Brussels Ia Regulation, jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters in principle lies with the courts of the defendant’s domicile; additional grounds of jurisdiction exist for certain contractual claims. However, where the existence or extent of a right in rem in immovable property is the direct subject matter of the proceedings, the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the state in which the property is situated in principle applies under Art. 24(1) Brussels Ia. In the case of an Italian property, the Italian courts therefore in principle have jurisdiction in this respect. The provision is interpreted narrowly under EU law and does not cover every dispute that is merely economically connected with a property.

Enforcement of German judgments in Italy

This in turn must be distinguished from the enforcement of a German judgment that already exists.

The Brussels Ia Regulation has largely abolished the former exequatur procedure between the Member States. A judgment that is enforceable in Germany may therefore in principle also be enforced in Italy without separate Italian proceedings for a declaration of enforceability having to be conducted beforehand.

Enforcement requires in particular a copy of the judgment which enables its authenticity to be established, and the certificate under Art. 53 of the Regulation. Translations may be required in accordance with the Regulation; a complete certified translation of the judgment does not in every case have to be submitted from the outset.

The actual enforcement is then in principle governed by the law of the state of enforcement. If enforcement is to be levied against an Italian property, this takes place under Italian enforcement law, in particular by way of the pignoramento immobiliare and the subsequent procedural steps.

In cross-border situations, three questions must therefore be kept clearly apart: Which substantive law applies? Which court has international jurisdiction? And in which state must an already existing enforceable title be enforced? These questions may lead to different answers.

Frequently asked questions on property law in Italy

Legal sources