Renting a home in Italy: a guide for foreigners

The lease types

Article 2 of L. 431/1998, the law on residential leases, gives two ways to contract.

Free-market lease (4+4). The parties may make a lease of at least four years, after which it is renewed for another four, except where the landlord intends to use the home himself or carry out works, or to sell it, in the cases the law allows. At the second expiry either side can open a renewal-on-new-terms or non-renewal procedure by registered letter sent at least six months before expiry; the other party answers by registered letter within 60 days. If nobody writes, the contract renews tacitly on the same terms.

Agreed-rent lease (3+2). In the alternative, the parties may sign a lease whose rent, duration and other conditions follow local agreements between landlord and tenant associations. Such a lease cannot last less than three years. At the first expiry, if the parties do not agree on renewal, it is extended by operation of law for two years, subject to the right to give notice under the conditions of the law.

The rent bands come from agreements made locally, so they differ from one municipality to another.

Shorter arrangements (students, transitional leases, holiday lets) follow other rules; see transitional and student leases and short-term rentals. For the detail of the 4+4 and 3+2 types, see the lease contracts guide.

The deposit

Art. 11 of L. 392/1978 provides that the security deposit may not exceed three months’ rent and bears legal interest, to be paid to the tenant at the end of each year. Calculation: on a rent of €900 a month, the maximum deposit is 3 x €900 = €2,700. A landlord who asks for more is outside the cap. See security deposit rules.

Registration and the tax

The tax authority says every residential lease must be registered, by the landlord or the tenant, whatever the rent, except a residential lease of no more than 30 days in total in a year between the same parties. The deadline is 30 days from signing or from the start date, if earlier. You can file online through the authority’s services, at an office (by appointment), or through an authorised intermediary. New leases must also contain a clause in which the tenant states he has received information and documentation on the building’s energy performance (APE), and the APE copy must be attached, except where a single unit is let.

What it costs, per the authority’s page:

• Registration tax: 2% of the annual rent, multiplied by the number of years of the lease. The first annual payment cannot be less than €67. You may pay for the whole term on registration (with a small discount) or year by year within 30 days of the end of each year.
• Stamp duty: €16 for each four written pages (and in any case each 100 lines) of each copy registered.
• Joint liability: landlord and tenant answer jointly for the whole amount.
• Agreed-rent leases in high-tension municipalities: the taxable rent is 70% of the annual rent. The pages Payotte read do not list those municipalities.
• Deposit: no registration tax on the deposit, unless a third party pays it (0.50%).

Calculation: a rent of €900 a month is €10,800 a year, and 2% = €216 a year; for four annual payments, €864 over the term before any discount. This is an illustration of the formula, not a quote.

Who actually pays the registration tax is a matter of agreement between the parties; the authority’s page only says both are liable. Ask the landlord before signing, and see registering a rental contract.

The cedolare secca alternative

A landlord who is an individual not acting as a business, and who lets a home to a tenant who is also not acting as a business, may choose the flat tax. The landlord then pays 21% on the annual rent (10% for agreed-rent contracts) instead of income tax on it, and no registration or stamp tax is due on the registration, termination or extension of the contract. In exchange, the landlord gives up the right to ask for rent updates, including the ISTAT index adjustment, even if the lease allows it. For a tenant, this means a lower registration cost and no annual indexation; see cedolare secca.

Specific points for a foreign tenant

• Tax code. You will need an Italian tax code to be named in a registered lease; the authority describes the code as the identifier in all dealings with public bodies. See the tax code guide.
• Notice to the police. Art. 7 of D.Lgs. 286/1998 requires anyone who houses a foreigner, or transfers to one the ownership or enjoyment of property, to give written notice within 48 hours to the local public-security authority; the notice includes the identity-document details of the foreigner and the exact address. Violations are fined €500 to €3,500. The landlord holds the duty, but ask if he has done it. The article speaks of a foreigner or stateless person; Payotte did not read a definition, so ask the local police authority whether it applies to you.
• Registering as a resident. For EU citizens staying more than three months, the Interior Ministry’s page sets conditions (work, or resources and health cover, or study). Ask your municipality which documents it asks for.

Agent fees

No law sets a percentage. L. 39/1989 art. 6 says that, absent agreement, the commission and its split between the parties are set by the chamber of commerce according to local custom. Agree the fee in writing, and ask who pays.

Which professional to consult

A real estate agent finds the property and negotiates, and is entered in the business register after filing a notice of start of activity (D.Lgs. 59/2010 art. 73). A notary is not needed for a lease. If something in the flat is wrong, a surveyor can document it. See real estate agents and surveyors.