6monthshere6monthsthere

What do i need to have a long term rental in italy?

By long term I hope a 1 or 2 years not longer

I have previously done holiday lets without official contracts, but want to find something more permanent

I am back in the UK right now

All info welcome, to this point i have simply taken holiday rentals and avoided paperwork!

What is typical contract?
What is typical deposit?

Garbatellamike

I don't know about the rest of Italy but in Rome the standard contract seems to be 4+4 years - typical deposit is around 2 months with Agency fees of about another month.

Twinkle Canelli

My lease started off as annual, and automatically renewed for another year unless I gave 3 months notice to quit before the end of that year. As the completion of my new home nears (and having just started my 3rd year in the same rental accommodation), I have changed to 3 month renewable leases, but again I have to give 3 months notice. There was no deposit requested, and no agency fees - the agency fees were paid for by the owner - but half my rent is paid monthly, and half in a lump sum quarterly and in advance.

I think, in this market, it's very much a negotiable subject, and depends on what the demand is like in your area. My landlord was lucky to have me rent his house and he knows it and didn't want to lose me!!!!

lisajw

I agree with Garbatellamike. In southern Campania we have a 4+4 years contract and paid 2 months deposit plus an agency fee equal to 1 months rent.

On top of this we had to pay a years condominium charge and a years spazzatura when signing the contracts, I guess this depends on the property, etc.

Just though to mention also, our landlord decided to have a solicitor present to do all the paperwork (not sure why as the agent was quite capable!) and he suggested we split her fee 50/50. Thankfully the agent stepped in and said absolutley not... if the landlord wanted a solicitor he could foot the bill himself. Luckily we had a great agent, else we might not have known it wasn't our responsibity to pay half.

Hope this helps and good luck!

6monthshere6monthsthere

What do you mean 4 plus 4?

Is this a 4 year contract with the option of 4 more years?

I guess in the climate it is all negotiable

Do i need to be an italian resident? how do i do this?

I really have no clue, as I say i have previously just gone via holiday sites and made offers for the periods i want, then turned up

modicasa

You should opt for a contratto transitorio, which is up to 18months and should be furnished. A contratto libero does not technically give you a furnished property, and you may be expected to provide everything, including a kitchen.

You dont need to be a resident for a contratto transitorio.

nicktonight

It is extremely difficult for Italian landlords to evict their tenants, even when they don't pay. 4 +4 basically means that an Italian resident tenant is secure for at least 8 years. On the other hand tenants can leave more or less when they like - though it is probably best to invent an excuse like changing jobs etc. You have to give the landlord notice of 1- 6 months as determined in the contract. You do not have to pay spazzatura charge for at least a year after moving in.
It may be a good idea to check condominium charges as these can include heating.
Most flats where I live in Siracusa are rented furnished. Unfortunately the furnishings are nearly always dreadful. You can sometimes find semi-furnished flats that have essentials like a cooker. In my opinion they are the best option as rent is cheaper and you can easily buy decent furniture.
There are lots of good web sites with hundreds of ads including numerous photos so finding something is no trouble.

To rent something you need your codice fiscale + passport plus some proof of income (UK tax returns). You don't need to be a resident to sign a 4 x 4 contract

modicasa

Spazzatura - you actually pay the TARSU from the moment you sign the contract, its just that in Siracusa they bill you over a year later. - I am still being pusrued by Siracusa for TARSU after the period I left my flat, because the new inquilino didnt register in their name - so I got landed with it.

There is no obligation for a 4+4 to be rented furnished. I have had clients who have rented a property with nothing. Even a bathroom to fit. Whereas a transitory must be furnished at least minimally - bed, wardrobe, chair, table etc.

It isnt always easy to find something - depends on location and especially now - we have seen a 500% increase in rent requests - landlords now have to let legally, and renters cant get mortgages so look to rent instead - there are too many renters and no enough properties - especially on 4+4 . Foreigners are usually liked by landlords, i.e.: Northern Europeans - because they pay on time and dont make a fuss - so its a plus point in a search.

37100

Wow, Modicasa. Always nice to read your posts to see how different things are. We've been looking at small/medium flats to rent and there are LOADS here! Same in our part of Turin. Top end flats however are struggling. One of our friends had to lower the prizce of her town centre, river view, 4 bed newly renovated with all the bells and whistles with a GARAGE to get the tenants they wanted. And landlords don't like foreigners here, but maybe they just don't like non-veronese.

Same for water though. When we moved a few streets the comune handed us the bill when we registered.

modicasa

Bloomin hec - here there's a dearth, but then rents are much lower I expect, and its probably worth a few hundred quid a year to avoid the hassle!
I was being polite about foreigners - I meant Brits, who feel honour bound to pay their rent - a minority! I wouldnt expect a Veronese to be happy at the thought of letting their house to a family from south of Rome.... !

lisajw

Here, we did have to be residents before we were able to sign contracts. And as neither of us had an employment contract at the time, the landlord was quite sceptical about letting to us and initially asked for us to take out insurance incase we didn't pay the rent. In the end we decided to pay a years rent in advance as the insurance was unnecessary and a waste of money for us. After signing contracts we had all the utilities changed to our name and had to pay quite big charges to the electric and water companies for this. Just something else to bear in mind

37100

I was being polite too. Apparently, Brits don't keep a clean enough house. But yes they usually pay the rent.

Lorna at Vicenza

Not if your name happens to be Pecora Nera

Ruby2

This has been our experience:

We’re in Venice and took a 1 year contratto transitorio. The apartment was a holiday let so comes well appointed and we haven’t needed to buy anything.
We found it through an agent who charged 1 months’ rental for his fee. I thought this was reasonable since we were making arrangements from the UK with neither time nor contacts so his input smoothed things for us considerably.

We also paid a deposit of 3 months rent. Again, given that we were starting our rental in the spring, at the start of the high season I guess it is some kind of protection for our landlord should we decide to throw in the towel after 6 months and take advantage of a rent that would be ludicrously cheap for the summer months alone. We’ll see what happens about returning this at the end of the rental period. So far our landlord has been very responsive and helpful.
We reimburse him for all bills so we haven’t had to set up utilities Given the relatively short length of time we’ll be in this apartment that seemed to be the easiest way.

We also have a written, registered contract so it’s all above board.

We only needed passport and codice fiscale. We weren’t asked for evidence of income but then we did have to put up a hefty amount upfront.

And having read your posts Modicasa and 37100 I now know I am the stereotypical Brit – diligent about paying the rent but definitely lacking on the cleaning and tidying front. Life’s too short!

Good luck with your plans.

Garbatellamike

My agent, who is used to dealing with expats, put a "diplomatic clause" or something like that in the 4+4 lease agreement so I can give 3 months notice to quit