Can a foreigner buy property at auction in Italy?

Who is allowed to buy

• EU citizens and residents of Italy can buy on the same terms as Italians.
• Citizens of other countries can buy where Italy has a reciprocity arrangement with their country, meaning Italians could buy there too. That covers many countries, including the UK and the US, but it is checked case by case, so confirm your own position with an Italian lawyer before you bid.

What you need first

• An Italian tax code (codice fiscale), which you can request from an Italian consulate or from the tax office in Italy.
• The deposit, usually 10% of your offer, paid in the way the sale notice sets out.
• Funds for the balance within the deadline on the notice, often up to 120 days.

How offers are made

• Most court sales now run online. Offers are submitted through the sales portal named in the notice, and the court's system normally requires a digital signature and a certified email address (PEC), which people living abroad rarely have.
• The practical route is a lawyer (avvocato) who files the offer and bids for you under a power of attorney. Only a lawyer may bid on behalf of someone to be named later.

What you can offer

Offers are accepted down to 75% of the starting price. If nobody bids, the next sale usually starts lower. Our Italian court sale guide explains the steps in full.

After you win

• The judge's transfer order (decreto di trasferimento) makes you the owner; no notary is needed. It normally cancels the mortgages and seizures registered against the home.
• You pay registration and other purchase taxes, which depend on whether it will be your main home.
• If someone is living there, the court's custodian normally arranges for them to leave, which can take months.

What to check before you bid

• Read the court valuer's report (perizia) with a local surveyor (geometra): it sets out planning problems, who lives there and what you take on.
• Check whether you are buying the whole property or a share of it.
• See the home with the court custodian, who shows it free of charge.
• Nothing here is legal advice. The rules are applied by each court, so rely on your own lawyer.