Renting in Italy: responsibilities of the tenant

It’s quite common for people moving to Italy to rent a property first, to get acquainted with the new town while looking for a property to buy.
This brief article is meant to give you some tips on how costs are split between landlords and tenants to hopefully spare you some surprises during your stay.

First of all, it’s worth noting that if you are renting a single house, you won’t be sharing any areas with other people, while if you are renting an apartment in a condominio, you will be sharing some areas (like, for example, the main entrance hall, stairwell, lift, garden, etc.) whose maintenance you are co-responsible for, and so you will have more responsibilities. Therefore, before committing to an apartment, it would be good to ask in advance what the monthly expenses are, so that you can budget accordingly, as some expenses are definitely the responsibility of the tenant and add up to your monthly rental.
As a general rule, extraordinary maintenance is the responsibility of the landlord, ordinary maintenance is the responsibility of the tenant.

So, for the lift, entry phone, heating, gutters, downpipes, roof, etc., the costs associated with the replacement of the entire system, or the replacement of main parts are on the landlord, while costs for replacing a light bulb, unclogging downpipes or cleaning the filters of your A/C are the responsibility of the tenant.

Also, in addition to all utility bills, the tenant is responsible for the waste tax or TaRi, tariffa rifiuti. The amount of the TaRi is worked out by the local Comune on the cadastral value of the property.

Lastly, be aware that if you wish to leave the property before the agreed end date as on the contract, you need to give the notice as stated in the contract, usually three or six months, by raccomandata letter or by PEC email. If you don’t give the appropriate notice, your landlord may be entitled to keep your deposit.

This article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.

If you need assistance in renting or buying a property in Italy, please do get in touch.

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy