The private purchase agreement in Italy as explained by a public notary

What is the 'compromesso' in Italy and how is it different from a sales contract? / Gtres

29 January 2019, 11:02

Today on idealista/news, the Italian notary Valentina Rubertelli answers the question: what is the preliminary contract of sale of a property? She tells us all about the pre-sale agreement called the “contratto preliminare” in Italian, but also known as the "compromesso", and what guarantees you get if you decide to contact a notary for its stipulation.

"The private purchase agreement,” explains Rubertelli, “is a bilateral contract by which the seller undertakes to sell to another person, the buyer, and they in turn agree to buy at that price and under those conditions.”

But does the preliminary purchase contract have to be signed in front of a public notary? "The law does not specify that a notary must be consulted for a contratto preliminare di compravendita; when the preliminary contract concerns a real estate asset, it just needs to be down in writing".

Despite this, there are many guarantees, especially on the buyer's side, that are acquired by notarized stipulation. "The notary can guarantee that controls are carried out on the legitimacy of the seller to sell, on the legality of the property from the point of view of the cadastral register and urban planning". A notary can also verify whether or not the communal expenses for the building have been paid up to the date of sale, and whether or not all the fittings are in order, which is important to know before you sign anything legally binding. "Once the preliminary agreements have been signed, all the chicken could come home to roost when it is too late to do anything about it.”

Transcription of the preliminary contract

"Only with a notary,” adds Rubertelli “can the contract be transcribed in the office of the conservatory. Transcribing it is different from registering it. It is to put a sort of red flag on the property to let all third parties know that the property has been reserved for a period of time of no less than three years. This means that the seller will not be able to get smart and try to sell or promise to sell that property to anyone else. Even if the seller or the property are later subject to credit payments or blockages, the transcription of the pre-sale contract holds up.”