Who Can Stay in the Home You Buy in Italy?

You buy a home and discover that someone has the right to keep living there. It happens more often than you might think: the seller's elderly parent, the owner's widow, an ex-spouse with children, a tenant, a relative who was lent the house. Italian law applies, whatever the rules in your own country, and it draws a clear line. Some rights stay with the property even after a sale. Other arrangements bind only the seller. That difference decides whether the occupant must leave after completion (the rogito, the deed signed before the notary) or may stay.

1. Usufruct: you own it, but you cannot move in
The holder of an usufruct (usufrutto) can use the property and take its income, including by letting it (art. 978 ff. Italian Civil Code). If you buy from the bare owner, you acquire bare ownership (nuda proprietà) only: you move in when the usufruct ends. It cannot last beyond the life of the holder (art. 979). The deed creating it is recorded in the property registers (art. 2643 no. 2) and is then binding on later buyers.
One detail matters: leases granted by the usufruct holder can continue after the usufruct ends, for up to five years, if they are made by notarial deed or by a private agreement with a certain date (data certa, a date that can be proved against third parties) before that time (art. 999). So also ask whether the property is let. We will cover bare ownership and prices in a separate guide.

2. Right of residence: personal, but strong
The holder of a right of residence (diritto di abitazione) may live in the house within the needs of himself and his family (art. 1022). He cannot transfer the right or let the house (art. 1024). The contract creating it must be in writing (art. 1350 no. 4) and recorded (art. 2643 no. 4): only then does it prevail over a later buyer (art. 2644). Recording requires a notarial deed or a private agreement authenticated by a notary or confirmed by a court (art. 2657). A note signed at the kitchen table cannot be recorded.
There is also a right of residence created by law, with no contract. When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse has the right to live in the family home if it belonged to the deceased or to both (art. 540(2)). The typical case: you buy from the heirs while their mother still lives there. Some court decisions have held this right binding on third parties even without recording. That is why, in practice, the notary asks the surviving spouse to take part in the deed or waive the right.

3. A family home assigned after separation
A judge may assign the family home to the parent the children live with. The order is recorded and binding on third parties under art. 2643 (art. 337-sexies). If you buy from someone separated or divorced, check the registers and ask for a copy of the order.

4. Comodato: the house on free loan
A comodato is a free loan of property (art. 1803). Without a set term, the borrower must give the house back as soon as the owner asks (art. 1810). With a term or a specific use, early return can be asked only for an urgent and unforeseen need (art. 1809). It is a contract between the parties and is not recorded. The risk for a buyer is practical: a relative who does not leave on time, possibly followed by court proceedings. Where the loan concerns a family home with children, a court's assessment can become more complex.

5. Tenants
A lease is binding on the buyer if it has a certain date before the sale (art. 1599). Registration with the tax office, which is compulsory, usually provides it. Beyond nine years, a lease binds the buyer only if recorded (art. 1599(3) and art. 2643 no. 8). If the lease is binding, the buyer takes over as landlord, with the end date already fixed.

What to check before the compromesso

• A search of the property registers (visura ipotecaria) on the property and the owners: usufruct, right of residence, assigned family home, long recorded leases, pending lawsuits.
• The seller's title deed and, if the house was inherited, the succession declaration: is there a surviving spouse?
• Who lives in the house today and on what basis: a written statement from the seller and, if needed, a residence certificate.
• Copies of any lease or loan agreement, with proof of registration.
• In the preliminary contract (compromesso): the house must be handed over "free of people and belongings" at completion. If in doubt, part of the price can be held in deposit by the notary until the house is vacated.

The Italian notary (notaio) is a public official acting for the transaction as a whole: not the equivalent of a solicitor representing only you. Many foreign buyers also use their own lawyer.

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 who lives in the house and on what basis, have the registers checked with the notary and state in the preliminary contract that the house must be vacant at completion.
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: The Compromesso: signing a preliminary contract in Italy · The Italian notary and the price deposit · Properties for sale

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