Housing

Steps

1. Prepare your file: identity document and codice fiscale (sheet IT-NIF-TOUS-001). EURES points out that it is required for a lease.
2. Identify the type of contract offered:
   • Contratto a canone libero (free rent, art. 2, para. 1 of law 431/1998): at least 4 years, automatically renewed for 4 years. At the first expiry, the landlord can only refuse renewal for a reason provided by law (taking the home back for themselves or a relative, selling, major works, etc.), in writing and with at least 6 months' notice.
   • Contratto a canone concordato (controlled rent, art. 2, para. 3): at least 3 years, extended by right for 2 years. The rent stays within the ranges set by the local agreement of your municipality. Tax advantages for the landlord, hence often lower rents.
   • Contratto transitorio (transitional lease, art. 5, para. 1): 18 months at most, for a temporary need of the landlord or the tenant (transfer, studies, training, etc.), which must be stated in the contract and proved by an attached document if it exceeds 30 days.
   • Contratto per studenti universitari (art. 5, para. 2): from 6 months to 3 years, if you are enrolled at university or in post-degree training (master's, doctorate, etc.) in a municipality other than that of your residence.
3. Read the key clauses: duration, rent, revision, service charges (oneri accessori), amount of the deposit, exit conditions.
4. Pay the deposit (deposito cauzionale): 3 months' rent at most. It earns statutory interest, which the landlord pays you every year.
5. Sign the written contract. Without a written document, the lease is not valid (art. 1, para. 4 of law 431/1998).
6. Check the registration: the contract must be registered within 30 days of signing (or of its effective date, if earlier), online (RLI service), at an Agenzia office or through an intermediary. The landlord must then confirm it to you in writing within 60 days (art. 13 of law 431/1998). Ask for a copy of the proof of registration.
7. Register your residence with the Comune at this address (sheet IT-SEJOUR-TOUS-001) and register for the waste tax (TARI, sheet IT-IMPOTS-TOUS-003).
8. To leave: notify the landlord at least 6 months in advance, citing gravi motivi (art. 3, para. 6 of law 431/1998); the law does not specify the form, but a registered letter (raccomandata) leaves you with proof. A contract may give you a wider right to leave: re-read it.

Documents

• Valid identity document and codice fiscale.
• Written lease, signed by both parties, with a copy for you.
• Proof of registration of the contract (RLI receipt or landlord's letter).
• Receipt for the deposit.
• Transitional contract: document proving the temporary need. Student contract: certificate of enrolment.
• Concordato contract without the assistance of landlord and tenant unions: certificate of conformity issued by one of these organisations (decree of 16/01/2017).

Costs and timelines

• Deposit: 3 months' rent at most (art. 11 of law 392/1978). EURES states that in practice 2 to 3 months are often asked for.
• Registration tax: 2% of the annual rent, with a minimum of €67 the first year; base reduced by 30% for a concordato contract in a municipality ad alta tensione abitativa (with high housing demand). For a multi-year contract, payment each year within 30 days of the anniversary, or in one go for the whole duration (with a small reduction). Landlord and tenant are jointly liable for payment to the Agenzia; between them, the law puts registration costs half on each (art. 8 of law 392/1978).
• Stamp duty (imposta di bollo): €16 per copy and per block of 4 pages (or 100 lines).
• Cedolare secca (flat tax on rents, at the choice of a landlord who is a natural person): 21% of the rent, 10% for a concordato in certain municipalities. With this option, no registration tax or stamp duty, and the landlord gives up any revision of the rent (including ISTAT indexation) during the option.
• Registration deadline: 30 days. Leases of 30 days or less in the year between the same parties do not have to be registered.
• Landlord's notice: at least 6 months before expiry, and only for a legal reason at the first expiry.

Common pitfalls

• The "under the table" lease. A rent higher than that in the written, registered contract is void. If the landlord does not register within 30 days, you can ask the judge to bring the rent back to the legal terms and claim the overpayment, within 6 months after giving the home back (art. 13 of law 431/1998). Without a registered lease, you will also struggle to prove your address.
• A deposit of 4 or 6 months. That is above the legal ceiling of 3 months.
• Believing you can leave whenever you want. The law only lets you leave before expiry for serious reasons, with 6 months' notice. If your situation is uncertain, negotiate a more flexible exit clause before signing.
• A "transitional" lease without a reason. If the reason is not stated and justified, the contract is brought back to the duration of a 4+4 lease (decree of 16/01/2017, art. 2, para. 6).
• Confusing a lease with a tourist rental. Rentals for tourist purposes are excluded from these rules (art. 1, para. 2 of law 431/1998): to settle, insist on a real residential lease.
• Forgetting indexation. Without the cedolare secca, the contract may provide for an annual rent revision: read the clause.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens, Swiss and British nationals: the lease rules are the same for everyone; only the codice fiscale and a valid identity document are requested.
• British nationals (Scots included): they must also have a right of residence (sheet IT-SEJOUR-TOUS-001); the British government points out that housing a non-EU person must be reported in writing to the Questura within 48 hours. This obligation applies to whoever lodges or houses a non-EU foreigner, or gives them the use of a home, so the landlord: written declaration to the local public security authority within 48 hours, on pain of a fine of €500 to €3,500 (art. 7 of legislative decree 286/1998). The text does not provide for an exemption for a registered lease: check that your landlord has done it.
• Erasmus students: the 2017 decree reserves the student lease (6 months to 3 years) for a student enrolled in a bachelor's, master's, doctorate or specialisation in a municipality other than that of their residence; it does not mention exchanges. For a semester of less than 6 months, the provided form is the transitional lease (18 months at most).