Prelazione agraria (agricultural right of first refusal)

When agricultural land is sold in Italy, the law gives priority to whoever farms it. The right belongs to the tenant farmer (coltivatore diretto) who has farmed the land for at least two years (legge 590/1965, article 8). If the land is not let, the right passes to the neighbour who is an owner-farmer of the adjoining land (legge 817/1971, article 7).

The seller sends the preliminary contract, with price and terms, to whoever holds the right. From then on they have 30 days to reply: if they accept, they buy on the same terms.

If the notice is never given, the holder of the right can redeem the land from the buyer, paying the same price, within one year of the deed being registered. That is why the notary always asks who farms the land and who the neighbours are: it is worth asking before you sign the preliminary contract.