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PROPERTY

Renting in Italy: the crucial vocabulary you need to know

One of the first tasks awaiting any new arrival in Italy is one of the most stressful: finding somewhere to live. Here's some vocabulary to help you out during the house-hunt.

Published: 15 May 2018 17:23 CEST
Updated: 6 August 2020 10:56 CEST
Renting in Italy: the crucial vocabulary you need to know
A 'For rent' sign in Italy. Photo: Steve McNicholas/Flickr

The basics

First, think about your budget and needs. Are you searching for an apartment (appartamento), room in a shared apartment (una camera), or an entire house (casa)?

Secondly, how long do you need it for? The process is quite different for a student looking for a place to live just for one semester compared to someone hoping to stay longer-term, and there are two basic kinds of contract. Long-term contracts are called 'contratti di libero mercato' (free market contracts), and typically last four years with the possibility to renew for a further four. You'll also see them written as '4+4'.

There's also another kind called 'contratti concertati' (mutually agreed contracts) which can be used for three years as a residential contract (uso abitativo) and can usually be extended beyond that. This category also covers temporary use (uso transitorio) which is fixed at a set period of one to eighteen months. In student areas, this also includes student rentals (uso studenti universitari), for between six and 36 months. 

READ ALSO: Ten things to expect when renting an apartment in Italy

Buildings in central Rome. Photo: Ludwig Thalheimer/Unsplash

The landlord is known as 'il/la locatore' in official language such as contracts, and 'il/la proprietario/a' in everyday speech, while the equivalent terms for tenants are 'il/la conduttore' or 'il/la locatorio/a' (in formal contexts) and 'il/la affittuario/a' (informal).

You might rent directly from the landlord if you respond to adverts online or in newspapers, or you could choose to go through a letting agent (agente immobiliare). Even while searching online, you'll see that some apartments are listed as being rented privately (privato) while others are through an agency (agenzia).

Details about the housing

The term for a studio is 'un monolocale', while 'un bilocale' is a two-room apartment, 'un trilocale' has three rooms and 'un quadrilocale' four.

Sounds simple enough? Be aware that exactly what counts as a ‘room’ might differ from place to place, so one trilocale may have two bedrooms and a living room, while another might include the kitchen in the calculation. You'll also see descriptions explaining exactly how many rooms (locali or vani) the place has, but again, check the floorplan (la pianta del piano) to see what's included, whether it's open-plan, and so on.

If you're hoping to live with flatmates (coinquilini), make sure to know the difference between una camera da letto (a single bedroom) and un posto da letto (one bed in a shared room).

READ ALSO: House-hunting in Italy: the essential vocabulary you'll need


Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

Next, find out if the place is furnished (arredato) or not. If it's described as 'non-arredato', or doesn't specify, look for details about just how unfurnished it is — are any kitchen appliances or light fittings included, for example?

And speaking of the kitchen, note the difference between a cucinotto/angolo cottura (kitchenette, though the former is more separated from the other rooms), una cucina (which may be a large kitchen but may also be too small to sit down and eat) and una cucina abitabile (a kitchen big enough to fit a table inside).

Other things you might have on your wish-list include un ascensore (lift), un balcone (a balcony), una lavastoviglie (dishwasher), un box/garage (garage), una lavatrice (washing machine — bear in mind that these are still not as ubiquitous as in many countries), and un giardino (garden).

Scams

Renters in Italy should be on high alert for truffe (scams). 

To avoid these, ask to see proof that the person offering to rent to you actually owns the house, and therefore is legally allowed to rent it. You can ask them to show you their visura catastale (property deed), and check the contract thoroughly as well as visiting the apartment and ensuring that it matches up to the description.

Try to avoid paying your rent or deposit in contanti (in cash), and never pay before signing the contract and ideally getting le chiavi (the keys). 

The Italian Interior Ministry has an English language guide outlining the proper process legitimate landlords will go through, which you can find here. And if you have any doubts, don't take the risk.

READ ALSO: Are people still planning to move to Italy after the coronavirus crisis?


Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Money matters

There are two key points here: make sure you have a contract (un contratto) and that you actually read it. You can also ask if the amount is 'trattabile' (negotiable), as this is sometimes the case.

The basic cost you're dealing with is the monthly rent (il canone), but what does it actually include? Check for le utenze (utilities), riscaldamento (heating), spese condominiali (extra service charges), which can vary significantly depending on the area and type of building.

You'll also likely have to pay two extra lump sums when you first sign the contract: a deposit (una cauzione or una caparra) which is typically between one and three months' rent, and an agency fee if you've used one. Make sure to find out the terms and conditions attached to getting your deposit back at the end of the rental period.

Once you're happy with everything, the only thing left to do is sign (firmare) and prepare for the move (il trasloco)!

MY ITALIAN HOME:

Member comments

  1. I am very interested in renting an apartment in the Puglia area short term.I would very much like to improve my Italian.Could somebody recommend a coastal small town without too many tourists where Italians live all year round.I would also need access to public

    Mi piacerebbe affitare un appartamento /uso transitorio nell’Apulia con l’intenzione di migliorare il mio italiano.Sono appasionata della lingua e della cultura italiana.Ci ho lasciato un pezzo del mio cuore quando ho visitato la zona tre anni fa.Potrebbe consigliarmi un piccolo borgo sulla costa dove gli italiani vivono tutto l’anno.Avrei anche bisogno dei transporti publici.Grazie mille.

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PROPERTY

Is now a good time to buy a home in Italy?

If you're looking at buying Italian property, is now the right moment? Falling interest rates and a sluggish market mean it may be as good a time as any, experts say.

Published: 18 June 2024 15:02 CEST
Updated: 22 June 2024 09:14 CEST
Is now a good time to buy a home in Italy?

High demand, low supply and a recent cut in interest rates mean more potential buyers could soon be entering the Italian property market, pushing prices further upward.

This may not seem like the ideal time to buy property – but if you’re already considering a purchase, experts say it may be better to pull the trigger now.

Here’s a more detailed look at why right now may (or may not) be the right time to snap up the Italian home of your dreams.

Lower mortgage rates

Italian mortgage rates are now falling after two years of steady increases. The trend, first recorded at the start of 2024, shows no sign of reversing again as we near the end of the second quarter of the year.

Lenders are confident that the European Central Bank (ECB) will soon move to further decrease inflation, meaning that Italian banks are now starting to offer mortgages at lower rates again.

READ ALSO: Can I get a mortgage in Italy as a foreigner?

Higher inflation had since 2022 pushed rates up amid the cost of living crisis, making it more expensive to buy a house and slowing down Italy’s real estate market almost everywhere except for in the larger cities.

According to monthly reports from ABI, the Italian Banking Association, from November to April the average rate on new mortgages fell from 4.5 to 3.79 percent.

This decrease of 0.71 percentage points seems small, but has a significant impact on a mortgage of hundreds of thousands of euros, experts say.

“On a new 25-year loan of 150,000 euros, the corresponding saving on the monthly installment is 60 euros per month,” Guido Bertolino, head of business development at mortgage comparison portal MutuiSupermarket, tells Il Post.

Of course, this doesn’t bring interest rates back down to the low levels seen until early-mid 2022, when they averaged around 1.5 percent.

Italy’s average interest rates on new and existing mortgages. Image: Il Post

Rates are expected to fall further later this year following ECB announcements – but, depending on the type of mortgage you’re in the market for, experts say it may be better not to wait for this to happen.

“When our clients call us and ask if it is worth waiting for further rate reductions to get a mortgage, what we explain is that future cuts will impact variable-rate mortgages only,” Bertolino says.

“On fixed-rate mortgages the reduction is already evident,” he says.

Slow sales

Another advantage to buying now, Bertolino points out, is that better mortgage rates will likely get the property market moving in a few months’ time – and house prices are expected to rise as a result.

The Italian real estate market is coming out of a complicated two years, in which sales have been down because of the increase in interest rates.

READ ALSO: Five clever ways to find a cheap home in Italy

Many would-be buyers are believed to have postponed the purchase while waiting for rates to go down. Data from Italy’s Revenue Agency on completed transactions shows that residential property sales were down 10 percent from the previous year.

The total average time needed to sell a house in Italy also increased slightly from five and a half to six months, the data showed, which suggests that it is taking longer to find a buyer.

What’s happening with house prices now?

The short answer is, not a lot: as has been the trend for Italy’s property market for many years.

According to official statistics bureau Istat, in 2023, house prices increased by an average of 1.3 percent: this was mainly driven by a 5.6 percent in the prices of new build homes, which remain a small part of the total number of properties available on the Italian market. Otherwise, prices remained more or less stable.

The other driver of increasing prices is location. Demand – particularly among investors – remains concentrated in large cities, according to Marzio Breglia, president of the Scenari Immobiliari research centre.

“Since 2020, the price of homes in the centre of Milan has increased by 15 percent, three times more than the Italian average,” he tells Il Post.

However, he points out, this is “less than in other major European cities: In Berlin they grew by 27 percent and in Paris by 20. And so did the rents.”

READ ALSO: Five things non-residents need to know about buying property in Italy

Another sector still seeing steady growth is the international market for second homes – so if you’re looking to buy from an agency specialising in this type of property, you may notice that prices per square metre are higher than average.

But Italy’s property market for the most part remains bogged down by a large number of older properties which can prove difficult to sell.

Some 54 percent of Italy’s housing stock is aged over 50 years, which is above the European average, according to analysis of Eurostat data by Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore in 2021.

The rural location of most such properties, plus the amount of renovation work required, generally means there’s little interest from Italian buyers.

This does mean however that international buyers who are looking to buy outside of the most popular areas may find such properties on sale at surprisingly low prices.

For anyone looking to sell an Italian property in the coming months, whether asking prices are stagnating or rising will depend on the property’s location, condition, and type.

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