Questions to ask the seller before buying a house in Italy

The most useful questions are the ones you ask before the purchase offer (proposta d'acquisto): in Italy a signed offer becomes binding once the seller accepts it, and from then on changing the terms is harder. This page gathers the questions that apply to almost every home, grouped by who can answer them, with the reason for each. They do not replace the work of your surveyor and the notary (notaio): they help you reach them with the right documents.

Our report adds to this list the questions that arise from the data for the address, for example about flooding if the house is in a flood risk area, and shows for each one the section it comes from.

For the seller

What year was the building built, and what work has been done? The year it was designed tells you which rules it was built to, including earthquake rules: this matters most in municipalities in seismic zone 1 and 2. Renovations and new roofs or systems change the actual condition compared with the building's age.

Have the house, the cellar or the garage ever flooded? People who live in a property know whether water has come in during heavy rain, even when the maps do not show it. If there has been damage, it is worth knowing how it was repaired.

Can I see an up-to-date visura and cadastral floor plan? Today the visura catastale (land registry record) can be downloaded free of charge online even for other people's properties, as explained in Free visura catastale with SPID: how to get one. The floor plan (planimetria catastale), however, can only be requested from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) by someone with rights over the property or a person they authorise: that is why you ask the seller. You also need the subalterno number, which identifies the individual flat.

Is there an energy performance certificate (APE)? The seller makes the certificate (attestato di prestazione energetica) available from the start of negotiations and hands it to the buyer; sale listings show the energy class (D.Lgs. 192/2005, article 6). The class helps you estimate heating costs and any works needed.

Are there declarations of conformity for the systems and a boiler logbook? They show who installed the systems, when, and what checks have been done since.

Will the house be vacant at the final deed? A rental contract with a certain date earlier than the sale remains valid for the new owner too (Civil Code, article 1599).

Are there tax deductions still running for work already done? Unless the parties agree otherwise, the instalments not yet used pass to the buyer (Testo unico delle imposte sui redditi, the Italian income tax code, article 16-bis). It is worth knowing how many there are and putting it in writing.

Can I come back and see the house at a different time? Noise, traffic and light change a lot between morning, evening and weekend.

For the building manager

Questions about the condominium go through the seller, who authorises the building manager (amministratore di condominio) to answer. The main ones:

• regular charges for the last year and unpaid instalments: the buyer is liable together with the seller for those of the current year and the previous year (implementing provisions of the Civil Code, article 63);
• extraordinary works approved or under discussion, with amounts and instalments: who pays can be set out in the preliminary contract;
• building rules, minutes of owners' meetings and lawsuits in progress.

The full list, with a request ready to send, is in Questions for the building manager before buying a flat.

For your surveyor

A geometra (building surveyor), architect or engineer chosen by the buyer answers the questions that need someone to see the house and the paperwork:

• does the cadastral floor plan match the actual state? In the deed of sale the seller declares that the cadastral data and floor plan match the actual state of the property (law 52/1985, article 29, paragraph 1-bis);
• does the current state match the building permits filed with the Comune? This is the planning check, different from the cadastral one: the surveyor does it by requesting access to the records (accesso agli atti), usually with the seller's authorisation;
• what condition are the structure and systems in, and what would the necessary works cost?

For the notary

You can choose and consult the notary even before the preliminary contract. Three questions:

• are there any mortgages, seizures or other encumbrances, and how will they be cleared? The notary checks the property registers or, in municipalities with the tavolare land registry (catasto tavolare), the land book (libro fondiario);
• by what deed did the seller acquire the property? Purchase, gift (donazione) or inheritance: title is one of the checks before the deed and also matters to the mortgage lender;
• is it worth registering the preliminary contract? A registered preliminary contract takes priority over mortgages and sales recorded after it (Civil Code, article 2645-bis).

For the Comune

• What does the local plan allow for land or gardens sold separately? The zoning certificate (certificato di destinazione urbanistica) is attached to deeds of sale for land, except for land belonging to buildings registered in the land registry and under 5,000 square metres (DPR 380/2001, article 30).
• Are there civil protection notices, restrictions or public works planned in the area? In flood or landslide risk areas the municipal plans say what happens in the event of an alert.

A list to print

The report for an address gathers all these questions into a checklist grouped by who to ask, with boxes to tick and space for the answers, and adds those linked to the data for the area: natural hazards, age of buildings, prices per square metre, distance from the sea, radon. The full guide explains how to use the answers, step by step.

Sources

• Codice civile (Civil Code), articles 1599 and 2645-bis; implementing provisions of the Civil Code, article 63.
• Legge 27 febbraio 1985, n. 52, article 29, paragraph 1-bis (cadastral compliance in deeds).
• DPR 6 giugno 2001, n. 380, article 30 (zoning certificate).
• D.Lgs. 19 agosto 2005, n. 192, article 6 (energy performance certificate).
• DPR 22 dicembre 1986, n. 917, article 16-bis (tax deductions for home improvements).
• Agenzia delle Entrate, planimetria catastale, accessed 14 September 2026.