Between the first viewing and the deed two documents are usually signed: the purchase offer and the preliminary contract, which everyone in Italy calls the compromesso. They have precise consequences, and it is worth knowing them before signing.
The purchase offer
With the offer the buyer proposes a price and conditions, and usually undertakes to keep it open for a certain time: during that period it cannot be withdrawn (Civil Code, article 1329). If the seller accepts it and the person who made the offer learns of the acceptance, the contract is concluded (article 1326). An acceptance with changes, instead, counts as a new offer.
That is why the offer must be written carefully: price, deposit, date of the deed, conditions such as obtaining a mortgage, documents the seller must provide.
The preliminary contract
The preliminary contract commits seller and buyer to signing the final contract; ownership passes only with the deed. It must be in writing, otherwise it is void (article 1351), and must be registered with the Revenue Agency within 30 days of signing; if a notary draws it up, the notary registers it.
| Item | Tax |
|---|---|
| Registration tax | €200 flat |
| Deposit and advance payments, contracts from 2025 | 0.5% of the sums |
| Stamp duty, private agreement | €16 every 4 pages or 100 lines |
Source: Italian Revenue Agency, guide to buying a home (October 2025). The tax paid on deposits and advances is deducted from the tax due at the deed. If the sale is subject to VAT, the advance bears VAT and a €200 flat registration tax.
Confirmatory or penitential deposit
The confirmatory deposit is the most common. If all goes well it is returned or, more often, deducted from the price. If the party who paid it fails to honour the commitment, the other can withdraw and keep it; if it is the party who received it who fails, the other can withdraw and claim double. Alternatively, one can ask for the contract to be enforced, or terminated with compensation for damages (article 1385).
The penitential deposit is different: it is the price of being able to withdraw. Whoever withdraws loses the deposit paid or returns double the deposit received, and there is no need to prove a breach (article 1386).
| Deposit | If the payer backs out | If the recipient backs out |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmatory | The other can withdraw and keep it | The other can withdraw and claim double |
| Penitential | The payer loses it | The recipient returns double |
Source: Civil Code, articles 1385 and 1386.
Recording
A preliminary contract drawn up by a notary, as a public deed or with authenticated signatures, can be recorded in the property registers: the buyer then takes priority over mortgages, attachments or sales to others recorded later. The effect lasts until one year after the date set for the deed, and in any case no more than three years from recording (article 2645-bis). It is especially worthwhile when much time passes between preliminary contract and deed, or when large sums are paid.
Before you sign
Read the offer as if it were already the contract, because it can become one. Have the home's paperwork checked first, not afterwards: floor plan, compliance, energy certificate, condominium charges. And put in writing the conditions that matter to you, starting with the mortgage.
Sources
Where the data, rules and figures quoted here come from.
- 1.Codice civile, articoli 1326, 1329, 1351, 1385, 1386 e 2645-bis, Normattiva · accessed on 1 November 2026
- 2.L'acquisto della casa: le imposte e le agevolazioni fiscali (ottobre 2025), capitolo sul contratto preliminare, Agenzia delle Entrate · accessed on 1 November 2026
