Italy has always fascinated those looking for a place where beautiful landscapes, cultural richness and quality of life come together in an extraordinary way. For many foreigners, buying a house in Italy is not just an ambition but often a project that combines both personal and financial aspects. It is therefore almost always an investment linked to the vision of a home that will improve one's quality of life and perhaps also prove to be a good investment for the future.
However, beyond the understandable enthusiasm, buying a property in Italy involves dealing with a complex legal and tax system, where urban planning requirements, building restrictions, administrative procedures and authorization times can vary significantly not only between regions but also between neighbouring municipalities. For this reason, proceeding in this area requires method, attention and, normally, the professional support of someone who is familiar with the local context.
Italians, who are aware of these realities, are unlikely to venture into a sale without relying on trusted professionals who will protect their interests, guarantee the success of the transaction and who, for various reasons, are now indispensable. In addition to the notary, who is the key figure in this specific context, we also find the surveyor or architect, depending on the case, and very often the estate agent. But increasingly, we also find the trusted lawyer, especially representing the buyer.
All these contributions are extremely useful and necessary for various reasons, which will be explained below.
Everyone knows that the notary, a figure whose presence is essential in Italy as in many other jurisdictions, has the main task of formalising the deed of sale, together with a series of other mandatory requirements, ensuring first and foremost its legality and subsequent transcription in the property registers. However, it must be borne in mind that the notary is a public official, but still impartial. In other words, their task is to certify what the parties present to them, but without assuming any obligation to protect the interests of one of the parties exclusively as this would result in the loss of the impartiality required by their role.
The same could be said for estate agents, even though they play a completely different role. Their job is to match supply and demand, accompany the parties on viewings and facilitate negotiations, acting as a neutral mediator with the aim of concluding the deal, and certainly not analysing the legal or financial risks inherent in the transaction. Furthermore, it is quite common for the agency to have a direct relationship with the seller and, at least in practice, tends to protect the seller's interests more.
In many cases, the agency also goes as far as to prepare contractual documents such as purchase offers and preliminary agreements, often based on standard or slightly adapted templates normally structured for basic transactions, which cannot usually consider any legal or technical complexities. For this very reason, signing them without adequate assistance can entail serious risks, which are often not immediately apparent.
This does not mean that the agent is acting improperly, quite the contrary. Their role is important and their responsibility, under the law, obliges them to always act correctly, communicating all information known to them that may affect the parties' decision. However, their duty to provide information is limited to what they know or should know, without extending to in-depth legal or technical checks that are not within their competence and which, as a matter of practice, are entrusted to other professionals.
Among these, qualified technicians, such as surveyors and architects play an essential role. It is their responsibility, on behalf of the parties, to verify that the property complies with urban planning, building and cadastral regulations, ensuring that the documentation corresponds to the actual situation and that there are no irregularities, abuses or discrepancies. These activities are often not given due consideration and are essential to avoid delays, penalties or even the impossibility of validly executing the notarial deed.
For these reasons, alongside the agent, the estate agent and the appointed technicians, the role of the trusted lawyer is becoming increasingly important as the individual with the specific and exclusive mandate to protect the client's interests independently.
That said, it is unfortunately a statistical fact that buyers, particularly foreign buyers, limit themselves by dealing directly with the seller, who will almost always have ample opportunity to personally direct the process in their own best interests, often choosing the professionals to work with directly, or, in the most common case, relying on a real estate agency that will 'take care of everything', unaware of the possible risks arising from the absence of an appropriate third party.
From the above, albeit briefly, involving a lawyer from the outset is both a prudent and strategic choice. The lawyer's task will be to coordinate all stages of the sale process, verifying the documentation produced, assessing the risks, and liaising with the notary, technicians, and public administrations. This will not only avoid future errors and problems but also ensure that the entire transaction is carried out in a coherent manner, from the initial assignment to the due diligence of the counterparty, from the negotiation of preliminary contracts to assistance at the notary's office, both for the preliminary contract and the final contract.
The lawyer can also verify the tax compatibility of the investment with the buyer's country of origin, propose customised structural and tax solutions, suggest the most suitable method of registering the property, assist in the post-deed phases, including declarations, local taxation and management of any leases and, if requested, also represent the client remotely where necessary.
Buying a property in Italy can be an extremely interesting experience in many ways, but it must be approached with caution, clarity and expertise, choosing wisely how to protect your investment, thus avoiding annoying misunderstandings, delays and, above all, unpleasant surprises.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
