Parking Space in an Italian Condominium: What You Buy

In Sanremo and Bordighera a parking space makes a real difference to the price. But "with parking" in a listing can mean very different things: a garage or space you own, a right to use a spot in the shared courtyard, or just the habit of parking there. Before your offer, find out which of the three you are buying. Italian law applies, whatever the rules in your own country.

1. A parking space you own
It is your property: it has its own land-registry entry or the deed lists it as an appurtenance of the flat. It is bought and sold with the home or on its own, and nobody can take it away. Check that it appears in the seller's title deed and in the land-registry plan, and that it matches what is on site.

2. Parking in more recent buildings
For buildings constructed after 1967, Italian planning law requires a minimum amount of parking space. In some cases these spaces are tied to the flats by law, whatever the deeds say. The rules have changed over time and depend on the year of construction: for a building with internal parking, ask the notary (notaio) to check the position before your offer.

3. Parking in the shared courtyard
The courtyard is a shared part unless the title says otherwise (art. 1117 Italian Civil Code). Each owner may use it without changing its purpose or preventing others from doing the same (art. 1102). So:

• the owners' meeting can organise parking by majority, with rotas or rotating spaces, even for a small fee (Supreme Court nos. 14019/2023 and 26630/2018);
• it cannot assign fixed, permanent spaces to individual owners without everyone's consent or a contractual set of building rules (no. 9069/2022);
• allocating spaces by ownership shares is void (no. 26226/2006);
• parking tolerated for years, or a verbal agreement, does not become a right (Court of Pesaro no. 536/2026);
• chains and posts installed by some owners to reserve a space amount to taking over a shared part (Court of Appeal of Salerno no. 579/2026).

4. "Exclusive use" parking: be careful
The phrase is common in listings and deeds. The Italian Supreme Court in joint session (no. 28972/2020) ruled out creating a property right of exclusive use over a shared part. In such cases you need to establish what the parties really meant: ownership, a right of use or just an agreement between owners. If you are paying more for that space, have the notary read the deed first.

What to check before your offer

• The seller's title deed: is the parking space mentioned? As property, appurtenance or "use"?
• The land-registry record and plan of the space, if any.
• The building rules (regolamento): contractual (signed by all or referred to in the deeds) or approved by the meeting?
• Minutes of meetings on parking, rotas and allocations.
• If the space is in the courtyard: how many spaces, and how many owners.

If you live abroad
"Posto auto" in an Italian listing does not always mean a space you own. Check before signing the compromesso, the preliminary contract.

How we work
Since 2003 Aquamarina Real Estate has helped buyers and sellers in Sanremo, Bordighera and across the Riviera di Ponente. Before an offer we ask for the title deed, land-registry plan, building rules and minutes on parking, and the preliminary contract states exactly what is being bought.
Call +39 0184 26.16.87, email info@aquamarina.email or visit our offices in Sanremo (Via Roma 32) or Bordighera (Via Vittorio Emanuele 302).

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Read also: Buying an Apartment in Italy: What to Ask First · The Compromesso: signing a preliminary contract in Italy · Properties for sale

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