Frequently asked questions: Mortgages and property

With a fixed interest rate (tasso fisso), the rate agreed in the contract stays the same for the entire term; you know every instalment from the outset, but you do not benefit if market rates fall later. With a variable interest rate (tasso variabile), the rate changes at set times because it follows a reference value agreed in the contract (e.g. the Euribor or the European Central Bank’s key interest rate); as a result, your instalment can rise or fall – even significantly – and with long terms a rise in interest rates has a greater effect. According to the Banca d’Italia, for the same term variable rates are usually lower than fixed rates at the outset. With a mixed rate (tasso misto), the rate can switch from fixed to variable (or vice versa) on certain dates or under conditions stated in the contract; with a “dual” rate (tasso doppio), the loan is split into a fixed part and a variable part. Variable-rate loans can also have a ceiling (cap) above which the rate cannot rise; this option usually involves higher initial costs. You can work out how different interest rates affect your instalment in the mortgage calculator.

Sources: Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026) · Banca d’Italia – Mutui: non solo tasso fisso o variabile

The Euribor (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) is an interbank interest rate determined at European level; it often serves as the reference value for variable-rate loans. The Eurirs or IRS (Euro Interest Rate Swap) is an interest rate determined at European level that exists for different terms; it usually serves as the reference for fixed-rate loans. Your loan interest rate is made up of the reference value plus a margin charged by the bank (spread). With a variable-rate loan, the rate is adjusted on set dates to the reference value agreed in the contract – this is why your instalment can change during the term. With a fixed-rate loan, the agreed rate stays the same for the entire term.

Sources: Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026)

In Italy, bank loans for buying a home that are secured by a first-ranking mortgage are often a “mutuo fondiario” (credito fondiario): a medium- or long-term bank loan secured by a first-ranking mortgage on the property. Only for this type of loan is there a fixed upper limit: the Banca d’Italia sets it on the basis of a resolution of the Interministerial Committee for Credit and Savings (CICR) of 22 April 1995 – in principle no more than 80% of the value of the mortgaged property (or of the cost of the building work). With additional security (garanzie integrative), the limit can rise to up to 100% – for example with a bank guarantee, a surety insurance policy (polizza fideiussoria), the guarantee of a public guarantee fund or a pledge of government bonds. For other loans there is no such statutory upper limit; there, the bank decides how much you receive on the basis of its assessment of the security and your creditworthiness. The value of the home is determined by a valuation (perizia); your creditworthiness (merito creditizio) is also decisive – the 80% is an upper limit, not an entitlement. According to the Banca d’Italia, for more than 80% banks usually require further security and often offer less favourable terms. One example of a public guarantee is the “Fondo di garanzia per la prima casa” (Consap); you can find the current requirements on consap.it.

Sources: D.Lgs. 385/1993 (TUB), art. 38 (normattiva) · Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026) · Banca d’Italia – Circolare 229/1999, Tit. V, Cap. 1, Sez. II · Consap – Fondo di garanzia per la prima casa

According to the Banca d’Italia, insurance is not compulsory for a mortgage loan (“L’assicurazione non è obbligatoria”). However, the bank may make the loan conditional on your taking out insurance, for example buildings insurance against fire and explosion (polizza scoppio e incendio) or a credit protection or term life insurance policy. In that case, the bank must accept, without changing the loan terms, a policy that you take out yourself on the market, provided it offers equivalent cover. It may not oblige you to take out the bank’s own insurance or to open an account with it. If you take out the policy offered by the bank when concluding the contract, you can withdraw from it within 60 days; the loan remains valid, and you can replace a required insurance policy with an equivalent one of your own. The bank must also tell you how much commission (provvigione) it receives for selling the insurance; the Banca d’Italia recommends comparing several offers.

Sources: Banca d’Italia – L’economia per tutti: Mutuo ipotecario · Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026) · D.L. 1/2012, art. 28 (normattiva) · D.Lgs. 206/2005 (Codice del consumo), art. 21 (normattiva)

If you buy from a private individual (or from a company selling without VAT), without the first-home relief you pay 9% registration tax (minimum €1,000) plus €50 each in mortgage tax and cadastral tax; with the “prima casa” relief it is 2% registration tax (minimum €1,000) and likewise €50 each. If you buy from a construction company selling with VAT, 10% VAT applies (4% for a first home, 22% for categories A/1, A/8, A/9) plus €200 each in registration, mortgage and cadastral tax. When buying a home (including appurtenances) without VAT, as a private individual you can ask the notary for the tax to be calculated on the cadastral value instead of the purchase price (“prezzo-valore”). The notary pays the taxes when the deed is registered; on top of this come the notary’s fee and, if an estate agent was involved, the agent’s commission (the agent and the costs must be stated in the purchase contract). For the loan there are, among other things, arrangement fees (spese di istruttoria), the valuation (perizia), notary costs for the loan agreement and the mortgage, insurance and the substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva), which the bank withholds: 0.25% of the loan amount when buying a first home – provided you declare in the loan agreement that you meet the requirements – and 2% when buying any other home.

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Guida “L’acquisto della casa” (ottobre 2025) · DPR 131/1986, Tariffa parte I, art. 1 (normattiva) · DPR 601/1973, artt. 15–18 (normattiva)

With the “prima casa” relief, when buying from a private individual (or from a company selling without VAT) you pay 2% instead of 9% registration tax (minimum €1,000) plus €50 each in mortgage tax and cadastral tax; when buying from a company selling with VAT, you pay 4% instead of 10% VAT plus €200 each in registration, mortgage and cadastral tax. The requirements include the following: the home does not belong to cadastral categories A/1, A/8 or A/9. It is located in the municipality in which you live, in which you will take up residence within 18 months (you must declare this intention in the purchase contract), or in which you work. In addition, you declare in the contract that you do not hold any other home in that municipality, either alone or jointly with your spouse (as owner or by way of usufruct, right of use or right of habitation), and that anywhere in Italy you do not hold – not even a share of – a home that you or your spouse have already bought with this relief. If you already hold a home bought with this relief, you still receive the relief provided you sell that home within two years of the new purchase. If you sell or give away the home bought with the relief before five years have passed, without buying a new main residence within one year, if you do not move your residence in time, or if the declarations were false, you must pay the tax difference, interest and a 30% penalty. You make the required declarations yourself in the purchase contract; the notary explains to you what they mean.

Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate – Guida “L’acquisto della casa” (ottobre 2025) · DPR 131/1986, Tariffa parte I, art. 1, nota II-bis (normattiva) · Agenzia delle Entrate – Agevolazioni per acquisto della prima casa

The ESIS sheet (in Italian PIES – Prospetto informativo europeo standardizzato) contains the details of the loan offer tailored to you personally, in a layout that is uniform throughout the EU. This allows you to compare offers from different banks. Among other things, it contains: the lender (and, where applicable, the intermediary), the main features of the loan, the interest rate and other costs (including the annual percentage rate of charge/TAEG), the frequency, number and amount of the instalments, where applicable an illustrative repayment schedule, additional obligations (e.g. insurance), the rules on early repayment, your rights, complaint bodies, the consequences of failing to meet your obligations and the competent supervisory authority. The bank or credit intermediary must give it to you free of charge and in good time once you have provided information on your needs, your financial situation and your preferences, and in any case before you are bound by a contract or an offer. Together with the binding offer (including the draft contract), you receive an ESIS if you have not yet received one or if the offer has changed. You then have a reflection period of at least seven days; during this time the offer is binding on the bank, and you can accept it at any time.

Sources: D.Lgs. 385/1993 (TUB), art. 120-novies (normattiva) · EUR-Lex – Directive 2014/17/EU, Annex II

Yes, provided another bank is willing to grant you the loan. Through what is known as portability (surrogazione), you can at any time replace your loan with a new loan from that bank for the outstanding amount, even without the consent of your current bank. The new bank takes over the existing mortgage, and the terms agreed with the new bank apply to you. Neither your current bank nor the new bank may charge you penalties, fees or any other costs for this, not even indirectly (for example for processing or cadastral checks); agreements that prevent portability or make it more expensive are null and void. The transfer must be completed within 30 working days after you have instructed the new bank to request the exact outstanding amount from the old bank; if this is delayed by the old bank, it must pay you 1% of the loan amount for each month or part of a month of delay. Tax benefits are not lost through portability; the rule applies to loans granted by banks and financial intermediaries to natural persons and microenterprises.

Sources: D.Lgs. 385/1993 (TUB), art. 120-quater (normattiva) · Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026)

If you pay an instalment late, as a rule you owe default interest (interessi di mora), which is usually higher than the agreed interest rate and runs from the due date until payment. For home loans to consumers concluded after 1 July 2016, the bank may not charge any costs for the default that exceed its actual costs. With a mutuo fondiario (bank loan secured by a first-ranking mortgage), the bank may terminate the contract because of late payments only if you have paid late at least seven times – even if not consecutively; a payment counts as “late” if it is made between the 30th and the 180th day after the due date. According to the Banca d’Italia, the bank can also terminate the contract if a single instalment is outstanding for more than 180 days. This protective rule does not apply to other instalment loans: under the Codice civile (Art. 1819), the lender can, depending on the circumstances, demand immediate repayment of the entire amount after just one unpaid instalment. After termination, the entire outstanding debt is due immediately; if it cannot be paid, the bank can have the home seized and sold at auction (pignoramento, vendita all’asta). Payment arrears can also be recorded in the Centrale dei Rischi of the Banca d’Italia and in private credit databases and make it more difficult to obtain loans later. The Banca d’Italia advises contacting the bank as early as possible if you have difficulty paying; possible solutions include, for example, a longer term, a deferral or a suspension of the instalments.

Sources: D.Lgs. 385/1993 (TUB), artt. 40 e 120-quinquiesdecies (normattiva) · Codice civile, art. 1819 (normattiva) · Banca d’Italia – “Il mutuo ipotecario in parole semplici” (febbraio 2026)

Yes, under certain conditions, through the State solidarity fund for loans for the purchase of a main residence (Fondo di solidarietà per i mutui per l’acquisto della prima casa, also known as the “Fondo Gasparrini”), which Consap manages on behalf of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The loan must have been taken out to buy your own main residence (abitazione principale; loans for building or solely for renovation or liquidity are excluded, and for a loan for purchase and renovation the suspension applies only to the purchase portion) and, according to Consap, must have been in repayment for at least one year. In addition, one of the following events must have occurred after the contract was concluded and within the last three years before the application: loss of employment (with statutory exceptions, e.g. your own resignation without just cause; according to Consap you must still be unemployed when you apply), the end of a quasi-employment relationship (parasubordinato), death, severe disability or civil invalidity of at least 80%, or suspension or reduction of working hours (details from Consap). Furthermore, your ISEE value must not exceed €30,000 and the loan must not exceed €250,000. The instalments can be suspended no more than twice and for no more than 18 months in total; the term is extended accordingly, and no fees or additional security may be required for the suspension. The fund pays 50% of the interest accruing on the outstanding debt during the suspension; you submit the application to your bank. Excluded, among other things, are loans with more than 90 days of payment arrears, loans with public subsidies (agevolazioni pubbliche) or loans with insurance that covers the suspended instalments. The fund can only help as long as resources are available. You can also agree a voluntary suspension with your bank; according to Consap, however, this counts towards the maximum of 18 months.

Sources: Legge 244/2007, art. 2, c. 475–480 (normattiva) · Consap – Fondo di sospensione mutui per l’acquisto della prima casa · Consap – Fondo di sospensione mutui: FAQ

A mortgage is a security right held by the bank over your property: if you can no longer repay the loan, the bank can have the property sold at a forced auction and recover what it is owed from the proceeds. It is registered – in South Tyrol (as in some other areas, e.g. Trentino) in the land register (tavolare), and in most other areas of Italy in the property registers of the Agenzia delle Entrate. As long as the mortgage exists, you can continue to live in the home, let it or sell it, but a sale may be more difficult. Once a loan from a bank or financial intermediary has been repaid in full, the mortgage is extinguished automatically (simplified cancellation). The bank issues you a receipt confirming the date of repayment and notifies the competent office within 30 days (in South Tyrol the land registry office, by means of a land register application) – at no cost to you and without a notary; the mortgage is then cancelled without you having to apply for anything yourself. Only if there is a justified reason preventing this may the bank notify, within this period, that the mortgage is to remain in place; if a mortgage is not cancelled despite repayment, you can turn to the ABF ombudsman (see below).

Sources: D.Lgs. 385/1993 (TUB), art. 40-bis (normattiva) · Autonomous Province of Bolzano/South Tyrol, Land Register – Circular No. 2/2011

First, you submit a written complaint (reclamo) to your bank, e.g. by registered letter or e-mail; the bank as a rule has 60 days to reply. If it does not reply or you are not satisfied with the reply, you can turn to the banking and financial ombudsman ABF (Arbitro Bancario Finanziario) – no later than 12 months after the complaint. The procedure is conducted in writing and online, you do not need a lawyer, and there is a procedural fee of €20; if your application is upheld even in part, the bank must as a rule refund the €20 to you. The ABF examines claims of up to €200,000 (with no limit on the amount if the matter concerns only the determination of rights, e.g. a mortgage that has not been cancelled) and does not examine matters dating from before the sixth year preceding your application; the matter must not already be before a court or another dispute resolution body. The decision is not binding like a court judgment, but if the bank does not comply with it, this is made public, and both sides can still go to court afterwards. For South Tyrol (Trentino-South Tyrol region), the Milan panel is as a rule responsible; in addition, you can report misconduct to the Banca d’Italia free of charge (esposto), but the Banca d’Italia does not decide individual cases.

Sources: ABF – “L’ABF in parole semplici” · ABF – Verifiche preliminari