Italian property due diligence: title, building records and condominium checks
The floor plan matches the viewing. The seller says the renovation was approved. Neither answers every question about the property you are buying. Italian property due diligence brings together ownership records, the building's authorised history, its actual condition and liabilities that may affect your purchase.
Avv. Luca Valente · 14 October 2026
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Start with what the seller owns and can transfer
A street address and the seller's name are not enough. Establish the legal description of the property, the rights being transferred and the authority of every person who needs to sign. Check whether the garage, cellar, garden or access shown during the viewing is actually included.
- Acquisition historyTitolo di provenienza
- How did the seller acquire the property? Supply the deed or other acquisition documents, including relevant inheritance records, for review.
- Registered rights and burdensRegistri immobiliari
- Ask the notary to investigate ownership, mortgages, attachments and other registered matters affecting the transaction. Findings need interpretation, not just a printout.
- Authority to sellLegittimazione / procura
- Identify co-owners, relevant marital-property issues and the authority of a representative or company signatory.
The Revenue Agency explains what an inspection of the property registers can reveal. A cadastral extract serves a different purpose and should not be treated on its own as a complete title investigation.
Also ask who occupies the property and on what basis. If you expect vacant possession, check the tenancy or other occupation arrangements and whether the promised handover is realistic. A title search alone does not show how the home is being used today.
Compare the actual home with two different sets of records
Arrange for a suitably qualified technical professional to inspect the property and examine the available municipal and cadastral records. Ask for a written explanation of the scope, documents reviewed, discrepancies and missing information.
What was authorised?
Review the construction and alteration history, relevant permissions and other records needed to establish the building's lawful status.
What is recorded?
Compare the cadastral identifiers and deposited plan with the property. Identify discrepancies requiring assessment or an update.
What is there now?
An inspection can identify issues that papers do not show. Agree whether structural, damp, roof or services investigations are included or require separate specialists.
A matching cadastral plan does not by itself establish planning and building compliance. Equally, a document about authorised works does not replace an inspection of their actual result. The Notariato's study on the lawful status of buildings addresses the legal framework following the Salva Casa reforms.
Example: a veranda shown on the plan
Illustrative example. An enclosed veranda appears on the cadastral plan and is used as part of the living room. The buyer assumes that its appearance on the plan proves the works were authorised.
The technician should trace the relevant building records and compare them with the enclosure and its use. If something is missing or inconsistent, establish what further evidence or procedure is needed. Updating the cadastral plan alone does not establish that an unauthorised alteration has been regularised.
Ask the technician whether the Salva Casa reforms apply to the specific discrepancy and what procedure or evidence is required. The Ministry's implementation guidance is a starting reference for the professional assessment, not a substitute for examining the particular property.
Request the relevant agibilità documentation and energy certificate (APE) as well. They address different matters: an energy rating is not a general certificate of legality or structural soundness. Missing records should be investigated before their significance is dismissed. The Notariato discusses agibilità under the amended rules.
Read the building's accounts as well as the apartment's papers
For a condominium purchase, ask for the regulations, recent meeting minutes, accounts and an updated administrator's statement about payments, approved extraordinary expenditure and litigation. The Notariato's transaction checklist includes condominium information among the documents to obtain.
- Unpaid contributions
- What remains outstanding, for which accounting periods, and what evidence shows payment?
- Major works
- Have roof, façade, lift or other works been approved? Obtain the resolutions, allocation of costs and payment schedule.
- Rules and disputes
- Check relevant use restrictions, common-area rights and litigation. Flag your intended use rather than assuming every apartment permits it.
Under Article 63 of the Civil Code's implementing provisions, the incoming owner can be jointly liable with the outgoing owner for condominium contributions relating to the current and preceding year. The Parma Notarial Council explains this exposure. Have the relevant periods and sums checked: an agreement that the seller will bear a cost does not necessarily prevent the condominium from seeking payment from the buyer.
Turn each unresolved finding into a decision before the deadline
A useful report distinguishes a confirmed problem from a document that has not yet been found. Ask what is established, what remains uncertain and how the uncertainty affects the proposed purchase. Do not treat silence in a limited report as confirmation that every issue has been checked.
- EvidenceIdentify the issue
Record the discrepancy or missing document and the professional responsible for investigating it.
- FeasibilityEstablish the options
Check whether a solution is available, what it requires, its likely timing and who bears the cost.
- ContractRecord the agreed consequence
Address outstanding work, evidence of completion and the effect on payment and signing dates.
Before the first commitment, consider appropriate conditions in the purchase offer. If a preliminary contract is already being negotiated, the findings should feed into the seller's obligations and completion terms.
If you have already signed, a newly discovered issue does not automatically cancel the agreement or make every payment refundable. Obtain advice on the contract and evidence before withholding payment, declaring withdrawal or agreeing to an extension.
Agree the scope of legal and technical review
When instructing a lawyer for property due diligence, explain the stage reached and the checks already commissioned. Legal review can connect the findings to your contractual position, while the notary and technical professionals carry out their respective investigations. Confirm who will obtain records, inspect, report and follow up each unresolved point.
For an initial enquiry, use the contact form with the property's location, whether anything has been signed, the next deadline and a short description of the concern. State which reports are available; wait for instructions before sending confidential documents. Any paid assessment is quoted before work begins.
Enquire about property document review ↗General information, not confirmation of the condition or legal status of a particular property. An enquiry does not create an engagement or acceptance of responsibility for a deadline.