Getting a mortgage in Italy as a non-resident

What the central bank’s guide says about size and affordability

The Banca d’Italia’s plain-language guide to the mortgage states the baseline:

• An intermediary normally lends an amount that does not exceed 80% of the property’s value as set by an independent appraiser’s report, after assessing creditworthiness. Sometimes lenders go above 80%, but then they ask for more guarantees and often apply less favourable terms.
• A reasonable instalment does not exceed one third of your disposable income, so that ordinary expenses, unforeseen costs and a possible drop in income can be met.
• The lender must assess your creditworthiness from sufficient and proportionate information that it has duly checked, and it may refuse credit if you do not provide what it asks for.

Calculation using the 80% rule: on a home valued at €250,000, a loan up to 80% is €200,000, and the buyer finds the remaining €50,000 plus the purchase taxes and notary’s costs from savings. A lender may offer less, and the guide treats more than 80% as the exception.

The questions specific to someone living abroad

The central bank’s guide does not discuss income earned in another currency, foreign credit histories or residence requirements, and Payotte found no official page that does. Those points are decided by the lender’s own policy. Questions to put to any lender or to a broker before you pay for a valuation:

1. Does the lender lend to people resident abroad, and in which countries?
2. How does it treat income paid in a foreign currency, and does it apply a haircut?
3. Does it ask for a guarantee on a property or deposit in your home country?
4. In which currency is the loan? If your income is in another currency than the loan, the exchange-rate risk is yours; the central bank’s guide does not cover this case, so ask the lender how it is handled.
5. Does it require an account with itself for the instalments? See opening an Italian bank account to buy.

The notariat’s guide for foreigners, prepared with the cooperation of the Italian banking association, also warns that “common sense and prudence are necessary” when applying for a home loan, because instalments not properly weighed up can become unsustainable.

The substitute tax

A residential mortgage can be taxed under the substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva) regime of DPR 601/1973, which replaces the registration, stamp, mortgage and cadastral taxes that would otherwise apply to the loan. Article 18 sets it at 0.25% of the loan, and at 2% where the financing does not relate to the purchase of the prima casa and its appurtenances. The 2% rate also applies where the borrower does not state, in the loan deed or an attachment, that the prima casa conditions are met.

Calculation: on a €200,000 loan, 0.25% = €500; 2% = €4,000. A non-resident buyer who will not live in the home and cannot make the residence declaration should expect the second figure. See the prima casa guide for foreign buyers for the conditions, and the substitute tax guide for the mechanics. The consolidated act of 2025 (D.Lgs. 123/2025) restates the registration-tax rates for the purchase itself; Payotte has not read whether the loan tax moves into it, so check with the notary.

What the cost of borrowing looks like now

The ECB’s statistics, from the Bank of Italy’s reporting, give the following for new loans to Italian households for house purchase (source: ECB statistics):

These are averages of what Italian banks reported for Italian households; they are not an offer to you, and a non-resident’s rate may differ. The APRC includes costs other than interest. The guide explains that the lender must publish its own APRC (TAEG) in the information sheet and give a personalised European standard information sheet (PIES) before you commit, and that you have a right to a reflection period of at least 7 days from receiving the binding offer. Compare offers on the TAEG and the PIES, not on the headline rate alone. For rates today, see current mortgage rates in Italy.

Other costs the guide lists

Beyond interest and the substitute tax, the central bank lists: the lender’s application fees (fixed or a percentage of the loan), the valuation fee, the notary’s fees for the loan contract and for registering the mortgage, and the cost of the building insurance, and possibly life-related cover. You choose the notary for the loan deed. Money is usually released a few days after signing, not on the day. Use the mortgage calculator to test instalments at the rates above.

If you may move to Italy

A borrower who will live in the home can often use the lower substitute-tax rate and the prima casa purchase relief together. The relief requires you to move your residence to the municipality within 18 months of the purchase and to declare that in the deed. Do not borrow on the assumption that you will qualify unless you are sure you can complete the move.

Which professional to consult

A mortgage broker can compare offers from several lenders, but ask which lenders it covers, whether any of them lends to residents of your country, and how the broker is paid. A notary deals with the loan deed and the mortgage registration. A surveyor can prepare the technical file a valuation relies on. See mortgage brokers, notaries and surveyors. Payotte does not list or rank lenders.