Profession

Estate agents in Italy: SCIA, REA and Registro Imprese

The Italian agent's roll (ruolo) was abolished in 2010. Agents now file a SCIA with the Chamber of Commerce and are entered in the business register or the REA. How to ask, and what the law says about commission.

Checked on against the official sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

In Italy, the agent’s roll (ruolo) set up by Law 39/1989 no longer exists: art. 73 paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree 59/2010 says “È soppresso il ruolo”. An agent now files a SCIA (a certified notice of start of activity) with the Chamber of Commerce, which enters the data in the business register or in the REA (repertorio delle notizie economiche e amministrative) with the status of intermediario. The register you can search for free is the Registro Imprese. No legal scale fixes the commission, and Payotte does not list firms yet.

What an agent does in an Italian purchase

An agente immobiliare (in the law, a mediatore) puts a buyer in touch with a seller and handles the negotiation. The agent is not the person who prepares or signs the deed, and the tax and registration steps are separate. For the public official who handles the deed and the registration taxes, see notaries. For the financing, see mortgage brokers.

How the trade is regulated

Art. 73 of Legislative Decree 59/2010 (text in force since 14 September 2012) does four things we read on Normattiva:

  • paragraph 1 abolishes the roll created by art. 2 of Law 39/1989;
  • paragraph 2 makes the activities governed by Law 39/1989 subject to a SCIA, filed with the Chamber of Commerce through the municipality’s one-stop shop, with the self-certifications showing the required conditions are met;
  • paragraph 3 has the Chamber check those conditions and enter the data “nel registro delle imprese … oppure nel repertorio delle notizie economiche e amministrative (REA)”, “assegnando ad essi la qualifica di intermediario”;
  • paragraph 6 says that, for every legal purpose, the references to the roll in Law 39/1989 now mean these entries in the business register or the REA.

Law 39/1989, art. 5 paragraph 3, also makes brokerage incompatible, among other things, with working as a public-body employee or with acting where there is a conflict of interest. Art. 5 paragraph 3-bis allows an estate agent to work for firms doing credit brokerage under articles 128-sexies and following of the banking code, which stay under their own rules: see mortgage brokers.

How to check an agent yourself

  1. Ask the agent, in writing, for the business name, the registered office, the business register or REA number and the intermediario status.
  2. Search the company on the free search of the Registro Imprese (registroimprese.it) by name and province. The detailed extract (visura) is paid for.
  3. Compare the name and address you find with those on the brokerage agreement.

We could not confirm that the free search displays the intermediario status: the detail is in the paid extract, which we did not read. If the status is not shown, ask the agent for the extract, or ask the Chamber of Commerce of the province.

Terms of use of the register

The legal notice of the Registro Imprese pages, published by InfoCamere, says, word for word: “I contenuti delle pagine del Sito sono di titolarità di InfoCamere S.C.p.A.. Tutti i diritti sono riservati.” It adds that contents “potranno essere utilizzati solo previa autorizzazione scritta da parte di InfoCamere S.C.p.A.” and that “l’utilizzo dei dati acquisiti tramite il Sito deve avvenire nel rispetto della normativa vigente sul trattamento dei dati personali”.

We did not find the terms of the free search itself in text. For this reason Payotte does not copy, collect or republish register data: it names the register and asks you to search yourself.

What it costs

No figure here: the law we read sets no percentage. Art. 6 paragraph 2 of Law 39/1989 says that, where there is no agreement, “la misura delle provvigioni e la proporzione in cui questa deve gravare su ciascuna delle parti” is determined by the Chambers of Commerce “tenendo conto degli usi locali”. Paragraph 1 says only those entered in the roll are entitled to the commission, and, under art. 73 paragraph 6 above, the roll now means the register or REA entries. In practice, the commission is what you agree.

Art. 9 of Decree-Law 1/2012 abolished the tariffs of the regulated professions “nel sistema ordinistico” and requires a written or digital estimate for those professions. We read nothing that applies this to estate agents, so ask for the commission, who pays it and when it falls due in writing before you sign. The purchase costs calculator covers the taxes of a purchase, not the commission.

Questions to ask an agent

  • Which register or REA entry do you hold, and what is the number?
  • Whom do you work for in this sale, the seller, the buyer or both?
  • What is your commission, who pays it, and at which moment?
  • What do I sign, and can I take the text home before I do?
  • Do you work with a credit broker or a bank, and are you paid by them?

Which professional to consult

For the deed and the registration of the sale, a notary. For the loan, a mortgage broker. For a technical view of the building, a surveyor or an architect. All guides are in the guides section.

Frequently asked questions

Does an agent need a licence in Italy?

The roll was abolished by art. 73 of Legislative Decree 59/2010. The activity is now subject to a SCIA filed with the Chamber of Commerce and to an entry in the business register or the REA.

Is there a list of agents?

The business register (Registro Imprese) can be searched free of charge by company name and province. We could not confirm what the free search shows about the intermediario status.

Is there a legal commission rate?

Not in the texts we read. Law 39/1989 art. 6 refers to local usage where there is no agreement.

Can I copy the register’s entries?

Not on the terms we read: the InfoCamere notice reserves all rights and requires written authorisation.

Does Payotte recommend agents?

Not today: Payotte lists no firm in Italy yet and never ranks agents. Firms can ask for their spot; Payotte will then select one firm per trade and area on public data under a published scale, never on its ability to pay, and the registration stays for you to check yourself.

Sources