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Renting in Italy – 4+4 leases, deposits, registration, scams and buying your first home

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Italian tenancy law is national, but rents, agreed-rent levels and social housing are set locally. Here is what renting in Italy involves – contract types, the deposit cap, registration and scams – and what buying costs, including the first-home relief.

Woman opening a window in a stone-walled room overlooking red roofs and hills
Photo: Taras Grebinets/Adobe Stock

Renting in Italy means joining a busy market: about 1.29 million homes were let under new registered contracts in 2025, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate's property observatory, OMI. The average rent on those new leases was about €79.6 per square metre a year – roughly €6.6 a month – for an average home of about 84 m².

New public money arrived in 2026. Decree-law 66 of 7 May 2026, the 'Piano casa', converted by Law 116 of 2 July 2026, puts €970 million over 2026–2030 into recovering and maintaining public and social housing, aimed at groups including young people, students, workers from elsewhere and young couples. Since 3 August 2026, the state guarantee for first-home mortgages also covers people with severe disabilities and their households.

What types of rental contract are there in Italy?

A residential lease must be in writing to be valid – a national rule under Law 431/1998. The two main types differ in length and in how the rent is set – and agreed rents vary by comune (municipality).

Canone libero (open market)Canone concordato (agreed rent)
LengthAt least 4 years, renewed for 4 more (4+4)At least 3 years, extended automatically by 2 (3+2)
RentSet on the open marketFollows local agreements between landlord and tenant organisations, so it differs by comune
Landlord's flat tax (cedolare secca), if chosen21% of the rent10% in comuni with housing shortages, including Rome, Milan, Turin and Florence

Source: Normattiva (Law 431/1998) and Agenzia delle Entrate, read 23 September 2026.

Transitional and university-student contracts are separate types. Rome, for example, has its own agreed-rent agreements, including one for off-site university students.

You may leave at any time for serious reasons (gravi motivi) with six months' notice. At the first expiry, the landlord can refuse to renew only for reasons the law lists – such as using the home themselves or for family, selling it or major works – with at least six months' notice, and owes you at least 36 months' rent if that route is abused. On a 4+4 lease, ending or renegotiating at the second expiry takes at least six months' notice by registered letter.

How much is the deposit, and who registers the lease?

Every lease over 30 days a year must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days of signing. Either party may register it – online through RLI web, at an office by appointment or through an intermediary – and both are jointly liable.

ItemAmountNotes
DepositUp to three months' rentEarns legal interest, paid to you each year
Registration tax (ordinary regime)2% of the annual rent, at least €67 for the first yearNone is due on the deposit
Stamp duty€16 per 4 pages or 100 linesReplaced by cedolare secca if the landlord chooses it
Agency feeAbout one month's rentMarket practice, not law, according to a 2021 Comune di Firenze guide

Source: Normattiva, Agenzia delle Entrate and Comune di Firenze, read 23 September 2026.

The law protects you: any agreement to pay more than the registered rent is void, and you can reclaim overpaid sums within six months of handing back the home. A landlord who opts for cedolare secca must tell you by registered letter and gives up rent increases, including ISTAT (national statistics institute) inflation indexation, while the option lasts; otherwise indexation depends on your contract.

Anyone who houses a foreign national, your landlord included, must notify the local public-security authority in writing within 48 hours, or face a fine of €500–3,500. Keep your copy of the lease: in Milan, a foreign tenant registering residence needs it, plus the registration receipt if available (part 3).

How do you avoid rental scams in Italy?

A 2021 housing guide for newcomers from the Comune di Firenze is blunt: informal channels are cheaper, but you can be scammed, and renting in nero – without a registered contract – leaves you without a tenant's protections. These warning signs map onto rules you can rely on.

Warning signWhat the rules say
No written contractA lease must be in writing to be valid
A lower rent on paper than the one you payThe extra is void, and you can reclaim it
A deposit above three months' rentThree months is the legal maximum
A lease that is never registeredRegistration within 30 days is compulsory, and you may do it yourself
Pressure to pay large sums in cashCash payments of €5,000 or more between people are banned

Source: Comune di Firenze, Normattiva and Agenzia delle Entrate, read 23 September 2026.

What does renting in Italy cost in Rome, Milan, Turin and Florence?

CityAverage rent per m² a year, 2025Homes let in 2025
Milan€206.0 (about €17.2 a month)29,173
Florence€167.0–
Rome€162.2 (about €13.5 a month)10,818
Bologna€156.3–
Turin€113.3 (about €9.4 a month)14,125

Source: Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI, Rapporto Immobiliare 2026 (ordinary long-term leases), read 23 September 2026.

Social housing (ERP) is open on equal terms with Italians to holders of a long-term permit, to people with a permit of at least two years who work, and to refugees and subsidiary-protection holders – a national rule, with details set by regions and comuni. In Turin, the next general call is expected in 2027. Rome runs an open call through the GEBAC platform, with a ranking updated every six months.

Some permits, such as the EU long-term permit, need an idoneità alloggiativa (housing-suitability certificate) from the comune. In Turin it is issued within 120 days, costs two €16 revenue stamps and is valid one year; book on 011 011 24300, weekdays 8:30–12:00.

What does buying a home in Italy cost?

From a private sellerNew, from a builder
Main taxRegistration tax 9%, on the cadastral value if you ask the notaryVAT 10% (22% for luxury categories A/1, A/8 and A/9)
With prima casa (first home) reliefRegistration tax 2%, at least €1,000VAT 4%
Fixed taxes€50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax€200 each for registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes

Source: Agenzia delle Entrate, read 23 September 2026.

For the relief, the home must be in the comune where you live, where you move your residence within 18 months, or where you work. If you still own a home bought earlier with the relief, you must sell it within two years of the new purchase – extended from one year by the 2025 budget law. The conditions listed by the Agenzia delle Entrate contain no citizenship requirement.

In 2025, 45.9% of purchases used a mortgage, at an average initial rate of 3.35% and an average instalment of about €650 a month. Banks usually lend up to 80% of the valuation, so you need at least 20% of your own; Banca d'Italia suggests the instalment should not exceed a third of disposable income. If you own no other home, including abroad, the Fondo Prima Casa run by Consap can guarantee a loan of up to €250,000 – normally 50%, up to 80% under conditions until 31 December 2027.

Buying to let short-term? From tax year 2026, cedolare secca on short lets applies only if you let no more than two flats that way – previously four.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Insist on a written lease and check its type (4+4 or 3+2)Before you sign
2Pay no more than three months' rent as deposit, by bank transferAt signing
3Check the lease is registered – or register it yourselfWithin 30 days of signing
4Use the lease to register your residence (part 3)Once you move in
5Ask the comune for idoneità alloggiativa if your permit needs itBefore you apply for that permit
6If buying, check prima casa conditions and the Fondo Prima CasaBefore the notary deed and the mortgage

Source: Normattiva, Agenzia delle Entrate, Città di Torino and Consap, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.