Offer, compromesso and deposit: how a house is secured in Italy

Usually an agency form, handed over with a cheque or transfer as a deposit. Signing commits you immediately, while the seller stays free until accepting. Once they do and you are told, the offer is a preliminary contract in its own right.

You need an Italian tax code to sign, and questions about the house belong before the offer: checks before you buy.

A preliminary contract that is not in writing is void (Civil Code, art. 1351). It fixes price, deposit, completion date and conditions, and goes to the Revenue Agency for registration within 30 days; when an estate agency brokered the deal, that is the agency's job.

• fixed tax €200;
• stamp duty €16 per 4 pages, or €155 for a notarial deed;
• 0.5% on a confirmatory deposit and on VAT-free advances, credited against the completion taxes;
• from a builder with VAT, the advance is invoiced with VAT and the fixed tax doubles: €200 plus €200.

Guides quoting 3% on advances refer to contracts registered up to the end of 2024.

Caparra confirmatoria (art. 1385) secures the deal:

• if the payer backs out, the other side can cancel and retain it;
• if the recipient backs out, the payer may withdraw and claim double;
• alternatively, either side can insist on the contract, or have it terminated and claim damages.

Caparra penitenziale (art. 1386) buys a right to change your mind: whoever withdraws loses what they paid, or repays double what they received, and that is the end of it.

If one party fails to turn up at completion, the other can ask a court for a judgment that replaces the unsigned deed (art. 2932). Which deposit and how much is up to the parties; have the notary explain the clause first.

A compromesso signed in notarial form (public deed or certified signatures) can be entered in the property registers (art. 2645-bis). The final deed then ranks ahead of any mortgage or seizure registered against the seller afterwards. It costs €200 in mortgage tax and €35 in registry fees, plus the notary's fee. Protection lapses if the final deed is not recorded within 1 year of the agreed date, and in any case within 3 years of recording.

In land-register municipalities the registers are those of the libro fondiario; the notary will explain how protection works there. Next steps: the notary and the deed, purchase taxes, the whole process.