General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by municipality and region and change over time; have your own situation checked by the notaio or an adviser in Italy (and in the country where you live).
Selling a home in Italy follows a clear sequence: an offer, a preliminary contract, the final deed at the notaio and the formalities afterwards. Each step has its own Italian name, and each one binds you in a different way. This guide walks through them in order, based on the explanations of the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato, so you know what you are signing and when.
Step 1. Price and preparation
Before any buyer makes an offer, get your papers in order: the deed by which you acquired the home, the cadastral extract and floor plan, the energy certificate (APE) and a check that the home matches its cadastral and planning documents. A buyer's first questions — and the notaio's checks later on — will be about exactly these points. Our guide on the documents you need lists them one by one.
Step 2. The purchase proposal (proposta di acquisto)
Interested buyers often start with a written purchase proposal. According to the Notariato, this is a declaration by the buyer that he wants to buy the property at a certain price. It is usually a pre-printed form, often from an estate agency, and it is typically accompanied by a sum of money as a deposit.
What matters for you as a seller: once signed, the proposal binds the buyer, but you remain free to consider other offers. If you accept it, the proposal automatically becomes a preliminary contract. So read it carefully before you accept: accepting is not a formality, it is the moment you are bound as well.
Step 3. The preliminary contract (compromesso)
The preliminary contract — contratto preliminare, usually called the compromesso — is, in the Notariato's words, a true contract that obliges both parties to sign the final deed. It sets out the main elements of the sale:
- the price and the identification of the property, with its address and a detailed description (floors, rooms), using up-to-date cadastral data;
- the date of the final deed;
- the obligations each party must fulfil before the handover.
The buyer usually pays a deposit (caparra) and sometimes advance payments on the price (acconti) at this stage. The Notariato distinguishes the two, and they are taxed differently when the preliminary contract is registered; those taxes are later offset when the final deed is signed. Discuss with the notaio which form fits your agreement and what each one means if the sale does not go ahead.
Transcription: when the notaio drafts the compromesso
A preliminary contract can be transcribed in the property registers if it is drawn up by a notaio as a public deed or an authenticated private agreement. Transcription "reserves" the property for the buyer: from that moment the seller can no longer sell it to someone else or grant a mortgage on it, and the seller's creditors cannot seize it. The Notariato recommends this when the buyer pays substantial advances, when there is a long time between the preliminary and the final contract, or when the seller is at risk of insolvency. In other cases, the need for transcription can be assessed with the notaio.
Step 4. Choosing the notaio
In Italy the choice of notaio is free — the Notariato stresses that it must not be imposed by an estate agent or bank — and it is up to the buyer, who pays the notary's fees unless the parties agree otherwise. The notaio acts as an impartial public official, independent of both buyer and seller. For you as seller, that means cooperating with the notaio's requests for documents and answering questions quickly.
Step 5. The notaio's checks
Before the deed, the notaio carries out checks required by law. According to the Notariato these include:
- the identity of the parties and their capacity to sign, including the property regime between spouses and, for foreigners, their legal capacity;
- searches for mortgages, liens and attachments, and whether the property's planning and cadastral status is in order;
- restrictions such as rights of first refusal or rules for listed buildings;
- the energy certification, the anti-money-laundering rules, the traceability of payments and any commission paid to an estate agency;
- the tax regime that applies to the sale.
Step 6. The deed (rogito)
The final deed, often simply called the rogito, is signed at the notaio's office. The law sets strict rules: the notaio reads the entire deed to the parties, the parties sign it in front of the notaio, and then the notaio signs. What the notaio certifies in the deed counts as conclusive evidence, including in court.
If you do not speak Italian, or cannot be in Italy on the day, raise this with the notaio well in advance. Ask how the deed will be explained to you and whether you can be represented, for example through a power of attorney (procura), and in what form it must be made.
If the sale falls within five years of your purchase, this is also the moment to ask the notaio to apply the substitute tax on the gain. See our guide on tax for non-resident sellers.
Step 7. Handover of the keys
As a rule, the property is handed over when the deed is signed. The parties can agree otherwise: an earlier handover (you remain owner and responsible until the deed) or a later one, with a clause in the deed setting a deadline and, if needed, a penalty for delay. For an apartment, the Notariato advises asking the condominium administrator at handover for a statement that all service charges are paid, because the buyer can be liable for unpaid charges of the previous year.
The Notariato also mentions a recently approved rule under which the price is deposited with the notaio and paid to the seller only after the formalities following the sale are completed. According to the Notariato, the implementing regulation was still in the approval process; ask your notaio whether it applies to your sale.
Step 8. After the deed
Within a short time after the signing, the notaio is required by law to:
- register the deed with the tax authorities and pay the related taxes on behalf of the client;
- file the deed in the public property registers, so that the transfer is effective against third parties;
- update the cadastre.
Your remaining tasks are practical: transfer or cancel the utility contracts, inform the condominium administrator and keep a copy of the deed with your tax papers.
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