The term "real estate" includes the following:

• Land (soil and subsoil)
• Any buildings or non-movable artefacts built above or under the soil

Real estate transactions are mainly governed by the relevant provisions of the Italian Civil Code and are increasingly governed by special laws, which include the following:

• Law No. 392/1978, as amended, and Law No. 431/1998, as amended, which, respectively deal with non-residential leases and residential leases
• Legislative Decree No. 42/2004, as amended, the so-called Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code (Codice dei Beni Culturali e del Paesaggio)
• Law No. 52/1985, as amended, on the registration with the public records
• Regional laws containing particular rules applicable to properties located in those regions

The Italian real property registration system is composed of the following:

• Real estate registries (Registri immobiliari)

Registration with the real estate registries is principally done to disclose a right or interest over real estate to make it enforceable against third parties. Where there are multiple registrations, the subject who registered its title first is preferred over others, regardless of whether the right or interest is acquired at a later date. The absence of registration does not affect the validity of such right or interest, with some exceptions (such as mortgages or properties located in certain regions in north-eastern Italy for which the registration is a requirement of validity). The relevant agreement or deed must be executed before a notary public for the purpose of registration with the real estate registries.

• Cadastre (Catasto)

Registration with the Cadastre is primarily for tax purposes and allows the determination of the taxable income of a property and contains other useful information such as floorplans and any variations in the cadastral identification numbers.

Title registration is managed by the real estate registries, which are administered by the competent public offices (known as "Conservatorie").

The creation or transfer (including amendment) of the following real rights or interests in rights regarding real estate can be registered:

• Ownership or co-ownership (including of condominiums)
• Non-absolute in rem rights (surface, usufruct, emphyteusis, use and housing rights)
• Easements, constraints or real burdens
• Mortgages
• Privileges
• Preliminary sale and purchase agreement
• Leases for an initial duration longer than nine years

For details on the purposes of registration, please refer to response to “What is the land registration system?”.

Ownership title may be proven, with a very high level of certainty, through the production of an updated 20-year notarial report (relazione notarile ventennale). This notarial report is an official declaration on recorded titles and encumbrances over a given real property issued by a notary public based on the outcome of a search carried out by cross-referencing data and documentation recorded within the real estate registries, the companies' registries (if there are companies involved) and the Cadastre registries (an activity which, in Italy, is a prerogative of notaries public).

In Italy, Cadastre's excerpts or title deeds do not, as such, constitute conclusive evidence of ownership title.

Yes, a search can be conducted by notaries public or, if a notarial report is not required, by service providers with access to electronic public registries. 

However, some data or documentation may not be retrievable online if it was recorded before the relevant real estate register implemented a digitalization process.

Small fees are generally charged to obtain extracts from the public records (net of any notarial or service providers' costs). 

Generally, there are no restrictions on foreign nationals to own real property in Italy, with very few exceptions where authorizations are to be obtained and where administrative declarations must be made.

However, non-European Union individuals or entities of a country that does not grant reciprocity (i.e., does not allow Italian individuals or entities to purchase properties in its territory) cannot own real estate in Italy, unless otherwise provided by international treaties to which Italy is a party.

Yes, real property can be expropriated by the government and other public authorities for public needs, and appropriate compensation must be paid.

Furthermore, public authorities may benefit from a right of pre-emption to purchase certain real estate property. 

Real estate properties are usually held through one of the following rights or titles:

• Ownership or co-ownership (including condominium)
• Non-absolute in rem rights (surface, usufruct, emphyteusis, use and housing rights)
• Lease title
• Bailment title (comodato)

Investments in real estate are usually made via direct real property transfer or through special purpose vehicles or funds.

The choice of the appropriate structure will depend on the nature of the particular property and of the parties involved in the transaction.

Most real estate financing is arranged through institutional lenders such as banks.

Lenders will typically take securities over the real estate property and the different related assets (e.g., a pledge over the shares in the purchasing company or in the company owning the real estate property, mortgage over the real estate property, assignment of rent paid by existing tenants in the real estate and indemnities paid by insurance companies).

The seller provides the documentation for due diligence. The 20-year notarial report (relazione notarile ventennale) on title and encumbrances can be obtained by either party.

Deeds of transfer of ownership or creation of in rem rights over properties are usually drawn up jointly by the parties' lawyers and the involved notary public.

Leases are usually drawn up by the landlord's lawyer.

Yes, owners could inherit liabilities for matters that occurred before they bought the real estate (such as condominium charges, certain obligations assumed toward public entities and contained in town planning conventions encumbering the real property, public liens/privileges on the property in case taxes on the same are not paid by the previous owners).

From an environmental standpoint, if the actual polluter is not found or identified or is insolvent, the competent local authorities (being the municipality or, in a supplementary way, the region where the plot of land is located) could proceed with the remediation autonomously ex officio. In such a case, the property is then subject to a lien securing recovery of the remediation costs advanced by the authorities, even if the owner was not the polluter; thus, the property could be expropriated if the remediation costs are not borne by the owner or the polluter.

The lien is also supported by a special privilege on real estate (privilegio speciale immobiliare), which is a legitimate cause of pre-emption that gives its holder the right to be satisfied on the debtor's assets in preference to other creditors. The encumbrances will be annotated in the public real estate registries for "disclosure" and, thus, enforceability purposes. In addition, the encumbrances will have to be indicated in the Certificate of Urban Planning Destination (certificato di destinazione urbanistica (CDU)) relating to the plot of land.

Where an owner, who was not the polluter, carries out the cleanup procedures on a voluntary basis, it has the right to claim against the polluter for the costs incurred and any greater damage suffered.

Generally, tenants are not held liable for matters that occurred before they occupied the real estate property, unless so agreed under the relevant lease agreement or unless the tenant fails to prove that the matters from which liability arises occurred before it leased the asset.

By operation of law, and unless derogated by the parties in the relevant agreement, the seller will usually retain certain liabilities after it has disposed of the asset (such us warranties for defects or eviction) and liabilities specifically agreed upon in the relevant sale and purchase agreement or mandatorily required by law (such as warranties on cadastral compliance of the transferred real property).

Tenants are generally not held liable for previous tenants' obligations unless so agreed in the relevant agreement.