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In Italy, foreigners and locals have equal rights to purchase real estate in the country at the legislative level.
It is allowed to acquire full ownership of all types of properties, including undeveloped land plots and shares of companies owning real estate in Italy. You can purchase real estate as an individual and/or a legal entity.
Buying Italian property of any value does not automatically give you the right to a residence permit.
Foreigners also have the same responsibilities. Any owner must pay annual property taxes and make utility payments.
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The presence of a realtor is not obligatory (unlike a notary, who must register the property). Theoretically, you can search for Italian property on your own. But foreigners rarely decide to undergo the procedure without professional advice.
The activity of Italian realtors is licensed. Also, realtors should insure their professional liability. We recommend that you check the licenses of those specialists with whom you will work. One of the indicators of reliability is participation in professional organizations, for example, the Federation of Real Estate Agencies in Italy.
On a paper mortgage, non-residents can apply for a mortgage in Italy. But in fact, loans for applicants from countries outside the EU are not approved in 95% of cases. The main problem is the confirmation of solvency. The client gets a loan if they have official income in the Eurozone. Being a wealthy person somewhere else does not work.
The tax identification code (codice fiscale) is necessary to carry out any transactions with Italian government agencies. You can get it at local tax offices with your passport. You can also apply for a tax identification code at the consulates of Italy in your country.
You also need to open an Italian bank account to transfer the required amount from an account in your country. It is possible to pay utilities from the same account in the future.
All negotiations are conducted in writing. The buyer makes a written purchase offer to the seller (proposta di acquisto). The offer prescribes the desired price of the object and the terms of concluding further contracts.
When the seller accepts the purchase offer, the buyer transfers the deposit to the seller. As a rule, this is 5-10% of the property price.
In the future, if one of the parties breaks the deal, it will entail financial responsibility for her. The purchase offer also describes the penalties.
The conclusion of a preliminary contract is not mandatory, but if you want one, it is notarized and contains the following information:
After signing the contract, the notary proceeds to check the documents submitted by the seller. If the check shows that the property has hidden issues, the transaction is failed due to the seller's fault who bears financial responsibility.
After signing the preliminary agreement, the transaction is considered irreversible.
At this stage, the buyer pays for the agent's services.
The main contract of sale (contratto notarile di compravendita) is signed by the seller and the buyer at the notary and is subject to notarization. The notary must read the contract aloud to exclude variability in the understanding of all its points.
If you don't speak Italian, there are two options:
The buyer must pay everything for the property, taxes, and notary fees by the time of the main contract.
Payments in Italy are usually made by covered checks. You can get them in the same Italian bank where you plan to open an account. The buyer passes the receipt to the seller on the day of signing the notarial contract of sale.
You can also transfer funds from an account abroad directly to the seller or (more reliably) to a notary's trust account, which will transfer them to the seller after compliance with all the contract terms.
The transaction is carried out only in euros.
After signing the main contract, the state registration of the transaction takes place. The notary transmits all the information to the relevant state authorities.
Ownership registration takes up to three months, depending on the municipality to which the cadastre belongs. However, the ownership itself passes already at the time of signing the bill of sale, along with the keys.
The original contract is received by the new owner after its legal registration. The notary issues a certificate of the transaction immediately after signing.
Taxes on the real estate purchase
The amount of taxes on the purchase depends on the type of real estate (primary/secondary), the status of the buyer (resident/non-resident), as well as the number of objects in ownership.
Purchase from a private person* of the first home (not luxury real estate) for residents of Italy
Registry tax (imposta di registro): 2%
Cadastral and mortgage tax (imposta ipotecaria e catastale): €50 + €50
* Secondary real estate or an apartment (house) from a developer in a building built more than five years ago or sold by another legal entity.
Purchase from the organization of the first home for residents of Italy
Registry tax (imposta di registro): €200
Cadastral and mortgage tax (imposta ipotecaria e catastale): €200 + €200
VAT (IVA): 4%
Purchase from a private person for non-residents or a second home for residents of Italy
Registry tax (imposta di registro): 9%
Cadastral and mortgage tax (imposta ipotecaria e catastale): €50 + €50
Purchase from an organization for non-residents or a second home for residents of Italy
Registry tax (imposta di registro): €200
Cadastral and mortgage tax (imposta ipotecaria e catastale): €200 + €200
VAT (IVA): 10% (22% – luxury housing)
All three conditions must apply for benefits:
If the buyer uses the benefit, but does not receive a residence permit and does not register for 18 months, in the future they will have to pay the difference between tax rates and a fine of 30% of this amount.
A certified realtor has the right to take remuneration from the seller and the buyer if they helped to conclude the transaction. There are rates of 3-5% + VAT. If several companies participated in the transaction, they divide the commission among themselves.
The buyer transfers the entire amount to the notary to calculate and pay taxes on the purchase, and state fees for making entries in the register, including the fee.
The amount of the notary's remuneration depends on the value of the Italian property: the larger the transaction amount, the lower the percentage. As a rule, the cost of services ranges from 1.0 to 3.5%, taking into account the costs of registration in the registry.
When buying a new building, the buyer pays for connection to utility networks. The amount of these costs depends on the municipality in which the property is located. As a rule, it turns out about € 2,000.
