Italian real estate law - Specialist Lawyers
Buy holiday real estate in Italy safely with a lawyer
LAVVIT lawyers will accompany you when buying a house or apartment in Italy.
Realise the dream of your own holiday home in Italy. We accompany real estate buyers competently - so that the dream does not become a nightmare. Because buying real estate in Italy works differently than in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. LAVVIT protects against nasty surprises.
The brokers
Most real estate purchases in Italy take place with real estate agents. The brokers are usually very friendly but be careful: the broker is paid by the buyer and seller, but he is not on the side of the buyer. The broker wants to get new orders from mostly Italian sellers, so his real customer is the seller. The brokers are not adequately trained in questions of building regulations and real estate law. The broker does not check the condition of the building or building permits. The broker's commission is due upon conclusion of the "Preliminare" (private real estate purchase contract,) i.e. long before you entered in the land register as an owner. The commission is usually three per cent of the net purchase price.
The irrevocable purchase offer – never sign!
In order to get the commission even faster, broker associations have come up with the so-called irrevocable purchase offer: the buyer makes a written purchase offer, the seller agrees to this in writing. And somewhere in the small print it says that the offer is now a preliminary purchase contract.
The preliminary/compromesso – a privately written contract
In Italy, the buyer undertakes to buy the property in private with the "Compromesso '' or "Preliminare" and without a notary. The buyer pays a confirmation fee of between 10 and 30 per cent of the purchase price. Only the transfer of ownership takes place with the "Atto" (colloquially Rogito) at the notary. If the notarial contract fails, it is possible that the buyer loses the high confirmation payment, so the preliminare must already be prepared by a lawyer and anticipate the provisions of the notarial transfer contract. Ideally, the Preliminare is a "small notary contract" that must be registered with the Italian tax office and offers extensive protection to the buyer. Sometimes mortgages are still registered in the property register or the previous owners have extended the property without planning permission. Illegally built villas in nature reserves are no exception. If you're not careful, you'll buy a house - and eventually you'll get a demolition order. This is of course only the worst case, but the lack of permits for garages or attic conversions can result in unpleasant dismantling orders.
Rogito – the notarial contract of sale
The change of ownership is finally regulated in the notarial contract, the "Rogito." The buyer has the right to choose the notary – and he should exercise this right. Because the realtors often deal with their favourite notary and the buyer sees himself as a petitioner before a notary, whom he pays. In Italy in particular, notaries are not always the same, and notarial staff are often poorly trained. The foreign buyer can only sign the Rogito if he himself speaks Italian with legal certainty, an interpreter is present or the buyer has authorised a third party to buy on his behalf. In Italy, the purchase price is traditionally paid by cash check. It is better to pay the purchase price to the notary escrow account, because only after the buyer has been entered as the new owner in the registers will the notary transfer the purchase price to the seller.
The property under construction
If you buy a property under construction or off the drawing board in Italy, you have to pay attention to special features. The preliminary must be made here at the notary and should be prepared by competent lawyers. The construction company must be checked for solvency, the project should be checked by an architect before the preliminary. A highly qualified notary must be selected here. The mandatory building guarantees must be checked. A lawyer should be present at the notarial preliminary, because experience has shown that important questions arise during the first notarial appointment. The construction has to be supervised by a buy-side architect and approved in sections.