THE PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE BY FOREIGN NATIONALS

Many foreigners covet the dream of buying real estate in Italy. Knowing the laws that regulate issues pertaining to the purchase of real estate, or land, in Italy by foreign nationals, is of utmost importance.

Foreigners and the condition of reciprocity in Real Estate purchases

Article 16 of the “Provisions on the Law in General,” contained in Royal Decree No. 262 of March 16, 1942 (with which the Italian Civil Code was adopted), states that “A foreign national is entitled to the civil rights attributed to a citizen on a condition of reciprocity, save for the provisions contained in special laws. This provision also applies to foreign legal entities.”

Today, the legislation on the enjoyment of civil rights by foreign nationals is Legislative Decree No. 286 of July 25, 1998 (consolidated law of dispositions to control immigration, and rules on the status of foreigners) and its implementing regulation (Presidential Decree No. 394 of August 31, 1999).

Cases in which the condition of reciprocity need not be verified

The current legislature provides the following conditions and distinctions for foreign citizens who intend to purchase real estate in Italy.

According to Legislative Decree No. 286 of July 25, 1998, the following are deemed equivalent to Italian citizens and, therefore, exempt from verification of the condition of reciprocity:

·        citizens (individuals and legal entities) of European Union (EU) member states as well as citizens of European Economic Area (EEA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway);

·        non-EU citizens who reside in Italian territory and hold a residence permit, the so-called “permesso di soggiorno”, issued for reasons of employment, self-employment, running a sole proprietorship, family reasons, humanitarian reasons and studying;

·        stateless persons who have been residing in Italy for at least 3 years;

·        refugees who have been residing in Italy for at least 3 years.

PLEASE NOTE:

Special tax regimes have been introduced in order to incentivize individuals to becoming tax residents in Italy, there including tax regimes for retirees.

Professionals should be consulted in order to verify the appropriate tax regime.

WHEN SIGNING OFFICIAL PURCHASE DOCUMENTS

In the event one of the parties of a Real Estate transaction does not understand the Italian language, documents, such as the initial purchase offer, the preliminary contract and final deed of sale will need to be translated into his/her language as well.