Housing

Renting in Italy: How Long-Term Rentals Work (2026)

By Steven DavisFacts checked October 24, 2026

Main lease types

4+4 free-market, 3+2 agreed-rent, transitional (up to 18 months), student (6 to 36 months)

Deposit cap

3 months' rent, earning legal interest (Law 392/1978)

Registration

Within 30 days with the Agenzia delle Entrate; the landlord's duty

Registration tax

2% of annual rent (minimum €67), split 50/50; none under cedolare secca

Agency fee

By agreement; 1 month's rent from each party in the local customs of Rieti-Viterbo and Liguria

Average asking rent

€14.60 per m² a month nationally; €22.40 in Milan (Idealista, Q3 2026)

After you move

Declare residence at the comune within 20 days

Why renting is harder for newcomers

Italian long-term leases protect the tenant. That protection is the main reason landlords screen applicants closely.

A standard 4+4 lease binds the landlord for 4 years, then renews for 4 more. At the first expiry, the landlord can refuse renewal only on grounds listed in Law 431/1998, such as needing the home for close family. The tenant can leave earlier for serious reasons with 6 months' notice.

Unpaid rent is what most evictions are about. Of the 37,122 eviction orders issued in Italy in 2025, 26,632 (about 7 in 10) were for arrears. The figures are Ministry of the Interior data, reported by Il Fatto Quotidiano in October 2026.

So landlords look for proof that rent will keep arriving. YesMilano's guide to renting in Milan notes that owners protect themselves against default, often by asking for large advances and deposits. A newcomer with foreign income and no Italian employment history is harder for them to assess.

How hard it is depends on what and where you rent:

• City or small town. Asking rents in Milan are more than 4 times those in Caltanissetta, the cheapest provincial capital in Idealista's report.
• Room or whole apartment. In a 2024 survey of Politecnico di Milano students, 80% lived in shared apartments. A single room averaged €637 a month.
• Student or family. Students have their own contract type. Families need a whole apartment and face the full document check.

What rents cost in the main cities

Idealista's third-quarter 2026 report puts the national average asking rent at €14.60 per m² a month, up 1.8% in a year. Its figures come from listings on its platform, with seasonal and holiday lets filtered out.

For neighborhoods and local practice, see the city guides for Rome, Milan and Florence.

The four lease types

Law 431/1998 sets four types of residential lease. All must be in writing.

The agreed-rent lease uses ranges negotiated in each comune (municipality) between landlord and tenant associations. It exists everywhere in Italy, on terms that differ by comune. It needs an attestazione (certificate of compliance) from one of those associations, unless one assisted with the signing.

The transitional lease requires a temporary need, such as a work assignment, stated in the contract and backed by documents. The student lease applies in university towns, to students registered as resident in a different comune.

Holiday lets are different. Law 431/1998 exempts homes rented only for tourism from its main lease rules.

The rental contracts guide covers each type, its exit rules and which suits which stay.

Deposits, registration and the flat tax

Deposit. Law 392/1978 caps the deposito cauzionale (security deposit) at 3 months' rent. It earns legal interest, which the landlord owes you at the end of each year. The Agenzia delle Entrate's Emilia-Romagna renting guide states that a clause requiring more is null. More in the deposits guide.

Registration. Any lease over 30 days in a year must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate. The deadline is 30 days from signing, or from the start date if that comes first. Law 431/1998 makes this the landlord's duty and requires proof to you within the following 60 days. Either party may file, and both are liable for the tax.

The registration tax is 2% of the annual rent, with a €67 minimum in the first year. Add a €16 stamp for every 4 pages. Landlord and tenant split it equally. The contract can put all of it on the landlord, but not all of it on the tenant.

No codice fiscale yet. A lease for a non-resident tenant can be registered without one, using form 69 at any Agenzia office. The basis is Agenzia Resolution 5/E of 2023. See the codice fiscale guide.

Cedolare secca. This is a flat tax on rental income that the landlord can choose: 21%, or 10% on agreed-rent leases in high-demand comuni. Under it, no registration tax or stamp is due, and the rent cannot rise with inflation while the option lasts. Details in the cedolare secca guide.

Police notice. Anyone who houses a non-EU citizen or lets property to one must notify the local public security authority in writing. The deadline is 48 hours, under article 7 of Italy's immigration law. D.L. 79/2012 (article 2) states that registering the lease does not replace this notice. It is the landlord's duty, and the fine runs from €500 to €3,500. Ask for a copy.

Costs at signing

Agency fees

An agente immobiliare (real estate agent) in Italy acts as a mediator between landlord and tenant. Only agents registered with the Camera di Commercio (Chamber of Commerce) are entitled to a commission.

The fee is whatever you agree. Without an agreement, the Chamber sets it with reference to local custom. Two published examples:

• Rieti and Viterbo (2023): one month's rent from each party for standard leases; 10% of a year's rent (or of a shorter term) for transitional and tourist lets.
• Riviere di Liguria (2005): one month's rent from each party for unfurnished homes.

Get the fee in writing before your first viewing, and ask for the agent's Chamber registration. Politecnico di Milano advises paying an agency only after it has brokered a signed lease.

Documents landlords ask for

A lease must identify both parties, so you will need ID. Beyond that, landlords set their own requirements. Prepare:

1. Passport.
2. Codice fiscale (Italian tax code). Landlords and agents routinely ask for it, even though registration can proceed without it.
3. Proof of income. Italian buste paga (payslips) or an employment contract if you have them. With foreign income, bring an employer letter, recent tax returns and bank statements.
4. A guarantor or bank guarantee. A garante (guarantor) jointly liable for the rent is a lawful clause. A fideiussione (a formal guarantee given for the tenant) is the alternative when you have no one in Italy.

Newcomers report that landlords often ask for a permanent Italian job contract, and that savings alone do not always persuade them. Offer a guarantor or a fideiussione, and put your income and savings on paper.

How to search: four routes

Politecnico di Milano's 2024 survey found that its students took just over 7 weeks on average to find housing in Milan. They used personal networks (37.2%), listing portals (34.2%), agencies (29.5%) and online groups (24.5%).

Doing it yourself works best when you are in Italy and read Italian. Listing portals include Idealista and Immobiliare.it.

A short let first is common: 18.8% of international students in the Polimi survey started in temporary housing. Plan the switch: in Milan, residency requires a registered lease, according to YesMilano's guide.

Scams and red flags

In the same survey, 51% of international students were asked to pay before seeing the apartment. Scams aimed at people renting from abroad follow a few patterns:

• A deposit to "block" a place you have not seen, often in an ad that looks too good to be true.
• An owner who is busy or lives elsewhere, cannot show the home and wants money first.
• Keys or a contract "sent by courier" for a fee.
• A flat fee to see a list of listings.
• A request to pay part of the rent off the books. Any agreement above the registered rent is null, and you can reclaim the excess up to 6 months after moving out.

The fixes: send someone you trust to view, or ask for a live video tour. Check that the person signing is the one named in the contract. Pay the deposit and first rent only after signing, by traceable transfer, never in cash without a receipt. Full checklist in the rental scams guide.

What to check before you sign

1. Contract type and length match your plans. A transitional lease states its reason.
2. Deposit is 3 months' rent or less.
3. Notice period. Leaving early for serious reasons takes 6 months' notice by default; a shorter notice can be written in.
4. Rent increases. A free-market lease can track up to 100% of ISTAT inflation, but only if a clause says so. An agreed-rent lease can track up to 75%, and none applies under cedolare secca.
5. Building costs. Tenants pay condominium cleaning, lift running, water and heating, and 90% of a porter. Ask for an itemized estimate.
6. Energy certificate. The lease must include a clause confirming you received the APE (energy performance certificate).
7. Inventory. List the condition of every room and the furniture, add photos, and have both parties sign it.
8. Registration. Agree who files and ask for the receipt.

Registering residence after you move

Within 20 days of moving in, you declare your new address to the comune's anagrafe (registry office). The office records it within 2 working days, effective from the date you declared. If the comune sends no notice of missing requirements or a negative check within 45 days, the declaration counts as accepted (an Interior Ministry circular of April 27, 2012 applies this rule from D.L. 5/2012).

If you plan to register residence at the address, say so before you sign. The steps and documents are in the residency registration guide.

Common problems and fixes

The landlord wants a permanent Italian job contract. Offer a guarantor or a fideiussione, and document your savings and foreign income.

You are asked to pay before viewing. Don't. Ask for a video tour or send someone, and pay only against a signed contract.

The deposit is withheld for cleaning or old damage. Newcomers report deductions for cleaning and for damage that was already there. A signed inventory and dated photos at check-in and check-out are your evidence.

The landlord wants a codice fiscale you don't have. Point to form 69 under Resolution 5/E of 2023, or get the code before travel.

The agency fee is higher than expected. Agree it in writing before viewings and compare it with the local Chamber of Commerce customs. Pay only once a lease is signed.

The landlord won't register the lease. Registration is the landlord's legal duty, and either party can file. Law 431/1998 also lets a tenant go to court to bring an unregistered lease onto legal terms.

Do you need help with this?

You can rent on your own if you are in Italy, read Italian contracts comfortably and have a guarantor or clear proof of income. That is truer still outside the largest cities. It gets harder when you must sign from abroad, on a deadline, in Milan, Florence or Rome, with only foreign income to show.