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Guides

Selling and buying a home, without surprises.

Two practical guides to buying and selling in Italy, written from official sources: the Notaries' Council, the Revenue Agency, the Chambers of Commerce and the law itself.

A homeowner shows the estate agent around her house with a terrace and a view of the sea
For sellers

Selling a home

An estate agent accompanies a couple on a viewing of a bright home near the sea
For buyers

Buying a home

The five golden rules

Remember just this, and you are already safe.

  1. The preliminary contract, always with a trusted notary

    A purchase offer binds only the person who signs it; the preliminary contract (compromesso or preliminare) binds both parties. When drawn up by a notary (as a public deed or an authenticated private agreement) it can be registered: from that moment the home is “reserved” for the buyer, the seller can neither sell it to anyone else nor mortgage it, and the seller's creditors cannot seize it.

    Source: Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato (Italian National Council of Notaries) – The preliminary contract · accessed October 2026

  2. Only agents registered with the Chamber of Commerce

    To work as a real estate broker in Italy one must complete a course, pass an exam and be entered in the Companies Register (Registro delle Imprese). Anyone who is not registered has no right to a commission and is practising unlawfully. Registration can be checked with a simple Chamber of Commerce extract (visura camerale).

    Source: Camera di Commercio di Torino (Turin Chamber of Commerce) – Guide “Rivolgersi a un agente immobiliare” (Working with an estate agent) · 2021 edition

  3. And covered by professional insurance

    The law requires agents to hold professional liability insurance covering errors and negligence, to protect their clients. A serious professional will show it to you without hesitation: it is the guarantee that a mistake will not fall on you.

    Source: Law no. 39 of 3 February 1989 – Real estate brokers · current text on Normattiva

  4. Documents first, signatures after

    If the property does not match its cadastral floor plan, or the references to its building permits are missing, the notarial deed of sale (rogito) is void by law. Planning and land registry checks should be carried out before the offer, not in the week of the notary appointment.

    Source: Presidential Decree (D.P.R.) 380/2001 (Consolidated Building Code), art. 46 – Nullity of deeds · current text on Normattiva

  5. Traceable payments, a protected price

    The deed states the means of payment and the agency's commission. And the buyer may ask for the balance to be held in the notary's dedicated account until the deed has been registered: ring-fenced funds that cannot be seized, safe for both parties.

    Source: Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato (Italian National Council of Notaries) – Depositing the price with the notary · accessed October 2026