Buying property in Italy as a married couple: community or separate property

If you are married and buy a home in Italy, the notary will ask about your matrimonial property regime. The answer decides who owns the house and who must sign now. It also decides who must sign when you sell. Italian law sets out how this works, starting from your nationality and where you married.

1. The Italian default: community of property
Couples who married in Italy without choosing otherwise are in comunione legale (art. 159 of the Italian Civil Code). Anything bought during the marriage belongs to both spouses in equal shares (art. 177), even if only one of them signs the deed.

2. What it means in practice
Both spouses must sign to sell or mortgage the property (art. 180). If one sells alone, the other can ask a court to annul the sale within one year (art. 184). The same rules apply to Italian civil unions.

3. Buying in your own name only: personal assets
Even under community of property, a purchase can stay yours alone in the cases set by the law (art. 179). The most common case: you pay with the proceeds of selling something that was already only yours, such as an inherited house. For real estate, this needs two things:

• a statement in the deed;
• your spouse attending the deed to confirm it.

The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that the spouse's signature is not enough if the reason is not true (Joint Sections, judgment 22755/2009). Simply “waiving” is not a valid reason.

4. Switching to separate property
Spouses can opt for separation of property at any time, by an agreement signed before a notary, even on the same day as the purchase (arts. 162 and 215). To be effective against third parties, it is noted in the margin of the marriage record. It applies to future purchases only: what is already joint stays joint.

5. Foreign couples: the law of your marriage applies
Italian community of property does not apply automatically to couples who married abroad. The notary must establish which country's law governs your property regime:

• married on or after 29 January 2019: the law you chose in writing or, failing that, the law of your first common habitual residence after the wedding (EU Regulation 2016/1103, applied by Italian notaries to all couples, whatever their nationality);
• married earlier: as a rule, the law of your common nationality (art. 30 of Italian Law 218/1995).

If that law has no community of property, the house belongs to whoever is named on the deed. That is generally the case for couples governed by English law. If it does have one, the house falls into that community.

The regime is stated in the deed. Bring your marriage certificate and, if you have one, your marriage contract or prenuptial agreement, with a sworn translation if required.

Our approach
Since 2003 Aquamarina Real Estate has assisted international buyers in Sanremo, Bordighera and the Riviera di Ponente. Before any offer we ask about your marital regime and flag it to the notary, so the right people sign and the title is registered the way you want.
Call +39 0184 26.16.87 or visit our offices in Sanremo (Via Roma 32) and Bordighera (Via Vittorio Emanuele 302).

Read also: The Compromesso: Signing a Preliminary Contract in Italy · Taxes and Costs of Buying a Home in Italy · Properties for sale

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This guide is for information only and does not replace advice from a notary or lawyer.