Frequently asked questions: land registry and documents

In the visura catastale (land registry record), the purchase deed, the cadastral floor plan and often the registered rental contract. If you do not have these documents, type the address in the search: the report shows the foglio (sheet) and particella (parcel) of the plot the building stands on, wherever the cadastral maps are public.

Because data on individual flats (subalterni), such as category, cadastral income, floor plan and owners, is not open data. The report works on the cadastral parcel and the building, which is the information that matters for risks, services and transport. For data on the flat you need a visura catastale (land registry record).

Yes, but without the cadastral parcel. In the provinces of Trento and Bolzano the tavolare land registry (catasto tavolare, based on the libro fondiario or land book) applies, and the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) does not publish cadastral maps; the same is true for Magasa and Valvestino, in the province of Brescia. The report says so and works out risks, population, services and transport from the address point.

It says whether the area of the property falls under landscape protection, for example the strip along a river or the coast, a wood or an area of notable public interest, and how far the nearest protected area is. Where protection applies, work that changes the outside appearance needs landscape authorisation before it starts. The Ministry of Culture map is drawn at 1:25,000 and describes the area, not the individual property: the binding answer comes from the Superintendency. In Aosta Valley, Trentino-Alto Adige, Marche, Molise and Sicily the map does not exist, and the report says so.

Yes: the cadastral map shows the land parcels of the whole of Italy. You search an address or move around the map, tap a plot and read its municipality, sheet and parcel, with no sign-up. From there you can analyse the property. The exceptions are the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, where the land registry is kept by the Provinces.

The cadastral value is worked out from the cadastral income (rendita catastale), and registration tax is charged on it: 2% for a main home, 9% otherwise, plus fixed mortgage and cadastral taxes. If a company sells with VAT, you pay VAT on the price. The Italian property purchase tax calculator does the sum from the rendita; we read the rates again every week from the Italian Revenue Agency's pages.

It says what the property is used for according to the Italian land registry: A/2 and A/3 are homes, C/6 garages and parking spaces, C/2 cellars and attics, C/1 shops. It is written on the land registry record (visura), next to the rendita, and taxes depend on it. The full list, from A/1 to F/7, is in Italian cadastral categories.