In Italy a public official, the notary, checks the house’s papers before you pay for it. That is the part most people do not know, and the reason buying here is safer than it looks from abroad.
Yes. Citizens of the European Union and of the European Economic Area buy property in Italy on the same terms as Italians.
For citizens of other countries the rule is reciprocity: a foreigner enjoys the civil rights of an Italian on condition that an Italian enjoys the same rights in the foreigner’s country (article 16 of the preliminary provisions to the Civil Code). No check is needed for non-EU citizens living in Italy with a residence card or a permit for work, self-employment, family, study or humanitarian reasons, nor for citizens of countries with a bilateral investment treaty. Italy’s Foreign Ministry keeps a sheet for each country:
In Italy the deed of sale is signed before a notary, an impartial public official specialised in the matter. The notary is not the seller’s lawyer and not the agency’s. You choose him, freely: the agency or the bank must not impose one. The buyer normally pays his fees, and the National Council of Notaries advises buyers to talk to the notary before signing even the offer.
By law, before the deed the notary checks:
He also checks the energy performance certificate, the traceability of payments and anti-money-laundering rules.
The notary does not inspect the building. Whether what was built matches its permits is a job for a surveyor (geometra) or an architect, before you sign the offer: see our article on old town houses.
Then he does the rest: he collects the purchase taxes from you and pays them to the Agenzia delle Entrate, registers the deed, records it in the public property registers and updates the land registry. If you ask, he can also hold the balance of the price in a dedicated account until the deed is recorded (Law 124 of 2017), so the seller is paid only when your ownership is safe.
This is the fear the system was built to remove: buying a house whose papers are not what they seem. The building itself is for your surveyor.
1. The offer (proposta d’acquisto). You put your offer in writing, usually with a deposit. It binds only you, until the seller accepts it. Once accepted, it becomes a preliminary contract. This is the moment to talk to the notary, not after.
2. The preliminary contract (compromesso). It binds both sides: the seller to sell, you to buy, on the terms and the date written in it. It must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days. For contracts signed from 1 January 2025, the tax is a fixed 200 euros plus 0.5% of the deposit and of any advance payment, with stamp duty on top; the 0.5% is later credited against the tax due at the deed. If the preliminary contract is drawn up by a notary and recorded in the property registers, it works as a reservation of the house in your name.
3. The deed (rogito). You sign before the notary, who reads the whole deed aloud to the parties. You pay, the taxes are paid, and normally you receive the keys the same day.
From the Agenzia delle Entrate’s guide to buying a home, edition of October 2025.
| You buy from | Registration tax | Mortgage tax | Cadastral tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| A private seller | 9% (at least 1,000 euros) | 50 euros | 50 euros |
| A private seller, as your main home | 2% (at least 1,000 euros) | 50 euros | 50 euros |
| A company, sale exempt from VAT | as the two rows above | as above | as above |
| A builder or renovator within 5 years of the works | VAT 10% (4% as your main home; 22% for luxury categories) | 200 euros | 200 euros |
Three things worth knowing.
You will hear about the 2% before the deed. Alessandro Gargano, of Agenzia Gargano Immobiliare in Manduria, explains the 2% to every foreign buyer himself, and the notary explains it again when the costs of the deed are worked out. In his experience, no buyer has ever lost the relief by breaking its conditions.
On top: the notary’s fee, the agency’s commission if there is one, and a surveyor if you want the house measured and checked before you sign. Ask for each in writing before the offer.
The codice fiscale is your Italian tax code, and you need it to sign anything. You can apply at any office of the Agenzia delle Entrate, by appointment, with form AA4/8 and your passport. From abroad, the official route is the Italian consulate in your country. Some consulates now ask foreign buyers to delegate someone in Italy instead (Marseille and Edinburgh changed their procedure in March 2025), so check your consulate’s page before you travel.
An Italian bank account makes the traceable payments, the utilities and the taxes much simpler.
We do the paperwork with you: codice fiscale, notary, Italian bank account, registered lease.
In Italy an estate agent must be registered with the Chamber of Commerce (in the Registro delle Imprese or the REA), which checks the requirements to practise (Legislative Decree 59 of 2010, article 73). Only a registered agent is entitled to a commission (Law 39 of 1989, article 6), and an agent who works without registration faces a fine and must give the commission back (article 8). You can check any agency with an extract from the Registro delle Imprese, for a small fee.
ManduriaShire is not an estate agency. Every sale goes through a licensed agency and a notary. When we help you find a house that is not ours, we take no commission.
Yes. EU and EEA citizens buy on the same terms as Italians. Citizens of other countries buy under the condition of reciprocity: Italy’s Foreign Ministry finds no obstacle for Americans; for Australian, British, Canadian and Swiss buyers the answer depends on the case. Ask the notary to confirm your case before the offer.
The conditions in the Agenzia delle Entrate’s guide say nothing about citizenship: the house must become your main home, and you must move your residence to the town within 18 months of the purchase, stating it in the deed. Then you pay 2% registration tax instead of 9%, and from a private seller it can be calculated on the cadastral value rather than the price. Confirm your case with the notary before the offer. Source: Agenzia delle Entrate, October 2025.
The notary is an impartial public official chosen by the buyer. Before the deed he checks the title, mortgages and liens, the planning declarations and land-registry conformity, pre-emption rights and heritage constraints. He does not inspect the building: that is a surveyor’s job. At the deed he reads it aloud, collects the purchase taxes and pays them to the State, then registers the deed and records it in the property registers.
From a private seller, 9% registration tax (at least 1,000 euros) plus 50 euros of mortgage tax and 50 euros of cadastral tax. If the house will be your main home and you move your residence to the town within 18 months, the registration tax is 2%. When a private person buys in a sale not subject to VAT, the tax can be calculated on the cadastral value rather than the price. Source: Agenzia delle Entrate, October 2025.
At any Agenzia delle Entrate office, by appointment, with form AA4/8 and your passport, or through the Italian consulate in your country. Some consulates now ask buyers to delegate someone in Italy: check your consulate’s page.
Ask for an extract from the Registro delle Imprese at the Chamber of Commerce. Agents must be registered there, and only registered agents are entitled to a commission.
An offer in writing, which binds only you; a preliminary contract, which binds both sides and is registered within 30 days; and the deed, signed before the notary, when you pay and receive the keys.
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This page is information, not legal or tax advice. Last checked: 30 October 2026.