Buying a fixer-upper (rustico) in Italy

Start with the cadastral category

The tax you pay on purchase depends on how the property is classified. For a resale from a private seller the registration tax is 9%, and 2% if you qualify for the prima casa relief. That relief is available only for dwellings in cadastral categories A/2 to A/7 and A/11; the Agenzia delle Entrate lists A/6, “rural-type dwellings”, among them, and excludes A/1, A/8 and A/9. A barn, a stable or a building classed as something other than a dwelling does not qualify. If the house is classed as a ruin or collapsing building, ask the notary how the deed will describe it and what tax applies, because the relief is built around a dwelling.

Land is different. The tax schedule sets 15% for the transfer of agricultural land and its appurtenances to anyone other than a direct farmer or professional agricultural entrepreneur registered with the social-security scheme. A rustico with fields therefore may split into a house taxed at 9% or 2% and land taxed at 15%. How the price is allocated is a matter for the deed, so ask the notary to explain the allocation before you agree it. The usual resale costs also apply: mortgage and cadastral taxes of €50 each when the seller is a private person or a company selling without VAT.

As a calculation with a hypothetical price: on a €200,000 house-only purchase qualifying for the relief, the registration tax would be 2% = €4,000, against 9% = €18,000 without it. See prima casa tax benefits for the conditions, including residence in the municipality within 18 months.

Planning history comes before the survey

The deed itself can be void. Article 46 of DPR 380/2001 makes a transfer of a building begun after 17 March 1985 void unless the seller declares the details of the building permit (or of a retrospective permit). Article 29 of Law 52/1985 requires a declaration, or a technician’s certificate, that the cadastral data and floor plans match the real state of the property, again on pain of nullity. The notary checks the urban-planning and cadastral status as part of the legal checks the Notariato lists.

A ruin usually has an older paper trail, an altered one, or none. Two rules help. First, building tolerances: article 34-bis treats small deviations as no violation, up to 2% of the measures in the permit, and for works completed by 24 May 2024 the limit rises to between 2% and 6% depending on the size of the unit (6% under 60 m², 5% under 100 m², 4% for 100 to 300 m², 3% for 300 to 500 m²). Second, if the deviation is larger, the seller or buyer must regularise it, and the cost is a matter to negotiate in the price. A technician can attest the legitimate status of the building in a sworn statement attached to the deed. See urban planning compliance.

For buildings begun before 1985 the article 46 rule does not apply as such; I did not find a source on what a notary asks in that case, so ask. Check also whether the property has restrictions or rights of first refusal: the Notariato lists these among the notary’s checks, with the energy certificate and the seller’s documents, which are in the documents guide.

Works: what needs a permit

Article 6-bis sets out the notification regime (CILA): works not on the free-activity list and not subject to a building permit or to a SCIA (the stronger notification that article 22 covers) are carried out after a notified, certified start of works, with a technician certifying compliance. Failure to file costs a €1,000 penalty, reduced by two thirds if you file spontaneously while the work is in progress. Structural work, a change of layout or an extension usually calls for a heavier title than a CILA, and the choice is made by the project technician and the municipality, not by the owner. See renovation permits (CILA/SCIA) and hiring a geometra, architect or engineer.

After new construction, reconstruction or works that can affect safety, hygiene or energy conditions, a certified habitability filing (SCIA) is due within 15 days of finishing the finishing works, with a fine of €77 to €464 if not filed. Do not count on living in or letting the building until that step is done.

The 2026 tax deduction

The renovation deduction (article 16-bis of the income-tax code) is described by the Agenzia delle Entrate as follows: for expenses in 2025 and 2026 it is 36%, or 50% on a main home, up to €96,000 per unit; for 2027 it is 30% (36% on a main home) on the same ceiling. It is an income-tax deduction spread over ten equal yearly instalments, and in general you can no longer opt for an invoice discount or credit assignment; for 2026 expenses there is an exception for areas hit by the earthquakes of 2009 and from August 2016 in Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche and Umbria. The Superbonus is over for new spending. If you buy a home in a building that a construction or renovation company or a building cooperative has fully renovated, and it sells within 18 months of finishing, the buyer takes the deduction on a flat 25% of the price. See the renovation deduction guide.

Energy certificate and the finished house

Buildings declared unusable or in ruins are excluded from the certificate rules, but once restored, the house will need an energy certificate to be sold or let. Non-residential rural buildings with no heating or cooling are also excluded. See the APE guide.

Which professional to consult

Before the proposal, have a surveyor or architect walk the property with the permit file, estimate the works and say what the municipality will accept. The notary checks the title, the planning and cadastral declarations and explains the tax treatment of house and land. Neither gives you a price for the works until the project is drawn up.