Area · Individuals and assets
Real estate law
Advice on sales, leases and property contracts: reading the documents carefully before signing, understanding rights and constraints. For individuals and businesses, out of court.
What we do
Before you sign
Sales and preliminary agreements
Review and drafting of offers and preliminary contracts: deposits, conditions, timing, warranties and protections before the deed.
Leases
Residential and commercial lease contracts: type of contract, term, clauses, registration and related obligations.
Other property contracts
Loan-for-use (comodato), brokerage contracts, private agreements: clear, balanced texts, tailored to the situation.
Documentary due diligence
Analysis of the property’s and the contract’s documentation: what’s there, what’s missing, what exposes you, with a concise report.
Our work is strictly out-of-court: opinions, review and drafting of contracts. We don’t handle property litigation or representation in court; for those we refer you to qualified professionals.
The deed and the acts reserved to the notary remain within their remit: we support you during the negotiation and in preparing the documents.
- You live abroad and have found a property in Italy; the agency is pressing you to sign a purchase proposal (proposta d'acquisto) "by tomorrow" — and you want to know exactly what it binds you to before putting your name on a document written in a language you don't fully read.
- You are about to sign a preliminary sale contract (preliminare) — or have received a draft — and want the deposit, the deadline for the final deed and any mortgage or financing condition checked, and explained to you in plain English.
- You are renting out your Italian flat as a non-resident owner, or renting one as an expat tenant: you need to know which contract type applies, which clauses are actually lawful, and how registration with the Italian tax authority works.
- You are buying or selling between private parties, without an agency: you want a balanced preliminary contract and independent confirmation that the property's paperwork — title, land-registry and cadastral records, building compliance — is complete before the notary appointment.
- You are a non-EU or EU buyer and want the practical route mapped out before you commit: obtaining a codice fiscale (Italian tax code), how the funds must be traced in the deed, translations or an interpreter at the notary — who does what, in which order.
Documents ready to sign and opinions that fit on a page: the preliminare or lease drafted — or corrected clause by clause, with every change explained in plain English — a due diligence report stating what is there, what is missing and what exposes you, and the checklist of documents to demand before the deed. Everything in writing, so you can negotiate from abroad with the facts in hand, entirely remotely.
How it works
The path, in three steps
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The property file
You send us what you have: the purchase proposal or draft preliminare, land-registry extracts (visure), the floor plan, or the lease to review — in Italian is fine. We tell you straight away which documents are missing and what to request from the seller or the agency. We work in English, remotely, from Rome (CET).
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Clauses and papers, checked
We examine the text — deposit, deadlines, penalties, suspensive conditions — and the property's documentation, and translate the legal substance into terms you can act on. You receive a written opinion with the critical points and the amendments to request before you sign anything binding.
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The final text and the notary file
We draft or correct the contract in its final version, ready for signature. If the deal proceeds to the deed, we prepare with you the ordered file to hand to the notary — the deed itself is the notary's exclusive remit; the preparation that keeps it from stalling over a missing document is ours.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- Do I still need an Italian notary?
- Yes. In Italy the final deed of sale (rogito) is a public act reserved to the notary, as is the authentication needed to record a preliminary contract in the land registers (Article 2645-bis of the Civil Code). If you don't understand Italian, the notary will also require a translation of the deed and, where needed, an interpreter. Our work comes before that: verifying the documents, drafting a preliminary contract that protects you, and getting you to the notary with a complete file. The two roles don't overlap — they add up.
- Can I buy property in Italy as a foreigner?
- EU and EEA citizens buy on the same terms as Italians. Non-EU citizens can buy if they are lawfully resident in Italy or, otherwise, under the reciprocity condition set by Article 16 of the preliminary provisions to the Civil Code — that is, if an Italian could buy property in your country. Either way you will need a codice fiscale (Italian tax code) before signing anything. Checking your position is one of the first things we do, so you don't discover an obstacle at the notary's desk.
- What is the difference between a caparra confirmatoria and a simple advance payment?
- A great deal — and you only see it when the deal falls through. The caparra confirmatoria (Article 1385 of the Civil Code) works as a guarantee: the buyer who paid it and defaults loses it; the seller who received it and defaults must return double. A simple advance (acconto) is just a down payment on the price, to be returned. Preliminary contracts must state which one is intended, without ambiguity: it is one of the first points we check.
- How much does a contract review cost, and can everything be done remotely?
- You receive a written quote before we start: reviewing a standard preliminary or lease has a fixed fee; a documentary due diligence on a property with a complicated history costs more, and we say so upfront. The entire engagement runs remotely, in English — documents by email, calls on video. No surprise costs: if something new emerges during the work, we flag it and you decide whether to go deeper.
- The seller is not honouring the preliminary contract — can you take them to court for me?
- No: our practice is a legal consultancy and the work is strictly out-of-court. We can analyse the contract and give you a written opinion on the options your situation opens and the documents to preserve; if court action is needed, we refer you to a qualified Italian lawyer — who will save time thanks to the preparatory file we hand over.
Contact
A home to buy, a contract to read?
Send us the preliminary agreement or the lease: we’ll review it together and tell you what to watch out for.
First reply within one business day. The first contact is free and carries no obligation.