Buying property in Italy from the UK: check the seller
Updated to
In short: before you pay a deposit on a property in Italy, check who is selling or building it. A UK visitor can stay in Italy without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and time under a residence permit or long-stay visa does not count towards that limit. For a building still to be built, D.Lgs. 122/2005 requires the builder to give you a surety guarantee on sums paid before transfer, and a ten-year insurance policy at transfer.
Part of the guide Checking an Italian company: a guide for UK businesses after Brexit. All guides: Guides.
Owning is not the same as staying
GOV.UK says you can travel without a visa to the Schengen area, which includes Italy, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Time spent in Italy with a residence permit or long-stay visa does not count towards that limit, and overstaying may lead to a ban from Schengen countries for up to 3 years (GOV.UK: Italy travel advice, entry requirements). The page does not deal with buying property: confirm your plans with an Italian lawyer.
If you buy a building still to be built
Art. 2(1) of D.Lgs. 122/2005 obliges the builder, when the contract is signed or earlier, to obtain and hand the buyer a fideiussione (surety guarantee) matching the sums the builder has collected and is still to collect before ownership transfers, on pain of nullity of the contract, which only the buyer can invoke; sums to be paid by a lender and public contributions already separately guaranteed are excluded (Normattiva: D.Lgs. 122/2005, art. 2 (surety guarantee)). Art. 4(1) of D.Lgs. 122/2005 requires the builder to give the buyer "una polizza assicurativa indennitaria decennale" (a ten-year indemnity insurance policy) when ownership transfers; it takes effect from completion of the works and covers material and direct damage to the property (Normattiva: D.Lgs. 122/2005, art. 4 (ten-year insurance policy)). Ask for both documents before you pay or complete.
Who to check, and where
| Counterparty | Check |
|---|---|
| Builder or developer (a company) | Registro Imprese: visura, annual financial statements, protests (Registro Imprese). Veryfy Verifica, €19, or Decisione, €49 (adds properties registered to the company and links with other companies) |
| Individual seller or agent | Verifica Persona, €29: protests and insolvency proceedings against the person. Verifica Persona Estesa, €49, adds offices in other companies, shareholdings and registered properties |
Both person reports come with a free anti-scam check on the email or website that contacted you and on the IBAN you are asked to pay.
Every company product comes with a free Check anti-truffa (anti-scam check): it looks at the VAT number in the EU VIES register, free webmail or disposable email, domain age, domains flagged for malware or phishing, SPF and DMARC protection, the VAT number shown on the website, data breaches affecting the site, and whether the IBAN is correctly written and from a country consistent with the company.
The service and the report are in Italian, and they come from Italian official sources: company names, offices and procedures keep their original Italian wording. Veryfy does not offer a translated report.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stay in Italy longer than 90 days if I buy a house?
The GOV.UK page covers stays, not ownership. It says UK visitors can stay in the Schengen area up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and that time under a residence permit or long-stay visa does not count towards that limit.
What must a builder give a buyer in Italy?
For a building still to be built, art. 2 of D.Lgs. 122/2005 requires a surety guarantee on the sums collected before transfer, on pain of nullity that only the buyer can invoke. Art. 4(1) requires a ten-year indemnity insurance policy when ownership transfers, effective from completion of the works.
How do I check an Italian builder?
Look the company up in Registro Imprese and compare its details with your contract. A Veryfy Verifica report (€19) adds beneficial owner, directors, and protests and insolvency signals, in Italian.
Sources
Official sources opened and read on 2026-10-24.
- GOV.UK: Italy travel advice, entry requirements
- Normattiva: D.Lgs. 122/2005, art. 2 (surety guarantee)
- Normattiva: D.Lgs. 122/2005, art. 4 (ten-year insurance policy)
- Registro Imprese, the Italian business register portal (InfoCamere)
General information, not legal advice. Sources verified on 2026-10-24.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stay in Italy longer than 90 days if I buy a house?
The GOV.UK page covers stays, not ownership. It says UK visitors can stay in the Schengen area up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and that time under a residence permit or long-stay visa does not count towards that limit.
What must a builder give a buyer in Italy?
For a building still to be built, art. 2 of D.Lgs. 122/2005 requires a surety guarantee on the sums collected before transfer, on pain of nullity that only the buyer can invoke. Art. 4(1) requires a ten-year indemnity insurance policy when ownership transfers, effective from completion of the works.
How do I check an Italian builder?
Look the company up in Registro Imprese and compare its details with your contract. A Veryfy Verifica report (€19) adds beneficial owner, directors, and protests and insolvency signals, in Italian.
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Check the seller or builderThe service is in Italian.