Viewing a flat before renting in Italy

Confirm the time and address and research the neighbourhood: transport, shops, schools, noise and safety.

• Prepare your file and copies of your passport, residence permit and payslips.
• Write your list of questions in advance.
• Know the prices of similar flats so you can judge whether the price is fair.
• Arrive on time even if social appointments are flexible, and if you are late call.
• Visit the neighbourhood at another time of day to learn the noise, since some central districts teem with life at night.
• And a friend who speaks Italian can accompany you.

Inspect damp and mould in walls, ceiling and corners, the condition of windows, insulation and ventilation, and the type of heating: central (riscaldamento centralizzato) with set hours and shared cost, or autonomous (autonomo) with a private boiler.

• Ask about cooling and air conditioning, water pressure and hot water, electricity and sockets, the kitchen and appliances, and the floor and the lift (ascensore).
• Check the neighbours and sound insulation.
• Photograph every defect and state it in writing before signing so that the owner repairs it or lowers the price.
• And watch for cockroaches, leaks or ants, and for many stairs if you carry children.

Ask about the contract duration and type (4+4 or 3+2), the start date, the monthly rent and how it is updated (ISTAT), what the spese condominiali, that is the shared building fees, include, who pays them and their monthly estimate, heating, water and waste costs (TARI), the deposit amount, and in whose name the meters and subscriptions are.

• Ask to see the mandatory energy performance certificate (APE) and the conformity certificate if any, and make sure the owner or agency wants to register the contract and that you can transfer your residence.
• And ask about rules on pets, smoking and subletting, and why the previous tenant is leaving.
• Note the answers and confirm them in the contract.

The owner or agency may say there are other interested parties and ask for an immediate decision and a caparra, that is a deposit or earnest payment, which is a familiar pressure technique.

• Do not pay any amount until you are sure of the owner's identity and get a written receipt stating the nature of the amount (a confirmatory earnest or not) and the terms of its return if the contract is not concluded for a reason beyond you, since some earnest payments are not returned.
• You have the right to ask for a short time to think but be ready that the flat may go to someone else.
• After the viewing send a message recalling your qualities as a tenant: stable income and no pets.
• And if you see warning signs look for another.

On receiving the keys carry out with the owner a verbale di consegna, that is a written handover report describing the condition of each room, furniture, appliances, defects and meter readings, and photograph everything with a date.

• This report protects you on leaving from deduction of your deposit for damage that already existed.
• Transfer the electricity, gas and water subscriptions to your name and give the companies the meter readings.
• And ask for a copy of the building rules (regolamento condominiale) and the number of the administrator (amministratore) for faults.
• And make every fault report in writing.
• And transfer your residence to the address at the comune after taking over.
• And do not make major changes without permission.

What is the purpose of the handover report?