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RENTING

Renting in Italy: How to avoid falling victim to security deposit scams

Stories of foreign tenants being mistreated by unscrupulous landlords are common in Italy. But when it comes to rental security deposits, the country has strong protections in place. Here’s what you need to know to avoid losing your money. Share your own stories and views below.

Published: 13 September 2024 15:57 CEST
Houses in Murano, in the Venetian lagoon, northern Italy
Houses in Murano, in the Venetian lagoon, northern Italy. Photo by Pietro De Grandi on Unsplash

A rental security deposit – deposito cauzionale or simply cauzione in Italian – is a set amount of money a tenant pays a landlord to protect the landlord in case of damage to the property. 

The deposit serves as a guarantee that the tenant will follow all the rules outlined in the rental agreement, and it must be returned when the tenant moves out.

Stories abound of foreign nationals being mistreated by unscrupulous landlords in Italy, but when it comes to security deposits, Italy has strong protections in place for renters. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself. 

How much deposit can a landlord request?

By law, security deposits cannot exceed three months’ rent, regardless of the tenant’s income or nationality, but landlords don’t always respect the rules.

READ ALSO: 8 things landlords in Italy can never ask of tenants

When looking for an apartment in central Milan several years ago, Sofia, who grew up in Australia, was told by a landlord that foreign nationals needed to pay a 12-month deposit because they sometimes left without paying the final instalments.

“The deposit was not presented as something negotiable,” she said. “It was a high-end apartment, so I guess the landlord knew that people had the capacity to pay.”

Sofia knew it might not be legal, but at the time it was difficult to find high-quality, centrally located apartments, she said.

She ended up choosing a different flat with a more standard deposit simply because she liked the other place better.

What happens if a landlord asks for more than 3 months’ deposit?

Unfortunately, prospective tenants have little recourse.

Landlords often refuse to change the deposit terms even when challenged, and will simply choose a different tenant. 

However, if you’ve already entered a rental agreement that asks for more than a 3-month deposit, you can ask the landlord to return the money.

If the landlord refuses, the tenant can then request mandatory mediation before national homeowners association Unioncasa.  

What do security deposits cover? 

Security deposits can only be used to cover certain limited expenses.

These include:

  • Any rent the tenant failed to pay
  • Failure to maintain the property, such as making repairs when things break
  • Property damage caused by the tenants themselves
  • Legal costs arising from eviction proceedings if the tenant refuses to move out
  • Refusal to give the owner access to the property for valid reasons

Tenants should fully document existing damage before moving in so landlords can’t try to make them foot the bill for problems that predated them. 

When is the security deposit due?

Renters in Italy often sign a preliminary agreement laying out the basic rental terms – including duration and price – followed by a more comprehensive rental agreement.

The security deposit is generally due at the moment the final rental agreement is signed.

Sometimes, during the preliminary contract phase, a landlord will request a caparra. This is an amount of money guaranteeing the completion of the rental agreement and is usually much less than the deposit (the cauzione).

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

When the final agreement is signed, the caparra should be returned and the cauzione becomes immediately due.

Alternatively, the caparra can be absorbed as part of the deposit or applied as payment for the first month’s rent.

Ultimately, Italians sometimes use the words caparra and cauzione interchangeably, but they are actually two separate things.

When is the security deposit returned?

The security deposit must be returned at the moment the tenant gives the property back to the landlord.

If the landlord is late returning the deposit, the tenant can file a ricorso per decreto ingiuntivo (injunction order) to request the deposit plus interest.   

What happens if the landlord doesn’t return my full deposit?

A landlord cannot unilaterally decide to withhold a deposit.

To keep all or part of the deposit, the landlord must appear in court so a judge can verify whether the property was in fact damaged, or whether other circumstances justify the landlord keeping the money.  

In fact, sometimes at the end of the rental period, the landlord has to pay back more than the original deposit.

Every year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance sets legal interest rates based on inflation and other economic factors.

During periods with high legal interest rates, the landlord might be required to pay back the deposit plus interest.  

Can I pay my last months’ rent with my deposit?

Tenants cannot use the deposit to pay their last three months’ rent. The deposit is due back after the tenant moves out. If the tenant stops paying rent before the rental period ends, he or she is in breach of contract and could face legal action.

Can I avoid deposit problems by only choosing rental properties listed by real estate agents?

In this situation, real estate agents typically represent the landlord’s interests, not the tenant’s – even if the tenant ends up paying the agent’s fee.

Agents don’t always follow the rules, and sometimes they don’t even know the law surrounding deposits. 

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to find a longer-term apartment rental in Italy

When it comes to rental agreements, it’s generally wise to be your own advocate and speak to an expert who has no connection to the landlord.   

Key vocabulary 

Deposito cauzionale – Security deposit

Caparra – Down payment 

Ricorso per decreto ingiuntivo – Injunctive relief 

Mediazione obbligatoria – Mandatory mediation 

Do you have experience of landlords in Italy not respecting the law when it comes to rental deposits? Share your stories and advice in the comments section below.

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MOVING TO ITALY

‘€150 rent a month’: Why you don’t always need to buy when you move to Italy

Buying a house is often the most common route for foreigners choosing to retire in Italy, but renting can be a far better fit for some. Here's how one British retiree left a hefty mortgage behind to rent a rural cottage for €150 a month.

Published: 19 September 2024 13:39 CEST
'€150 rent a month': Why you don't always need to buy when you move to Italy

Retiring and moving to Italy at a certain age isn’t an easy job, particularly if one has to first get rid of a burdensome mortgage. 

But Tim Wood, a 72-year-old British retiree who used to work as an interior designer, in 2016 managed to sell his house in Brighton, pay off the remaining part of his mortgage and move to southern Italy. 

But instead of buying a cheap dwelling as most expats do, he settled for an extremely low rent. 

“I was just so scared of buying another home, even if it might have been mortgage-free and extremely cheap. I wanted to live without any financial weight on my shoulders. I now pay just €150 per month to rent a 4-bedroom rural cottage in Abruzzo”, Wood tells The Local. 

‘Abruzzo popped up after I researched cost of living throughout Italy’

Renting was also a much easier option than buying, because he wanted to avoid the paper work, the bureaucracy and procedures involved in purchasing and eventually having to restyle a house. 

After selling his UK house, Wood moved to the countryside near the coastal town of Vasto, on the Adriatic sea. 

“I did some online search on which were the cheapest regions to live in Italy, reading articles about national statistics on cost of living and life quality, and Abruzzo popped up”, says Wood. 

READ ALSO: What you need to know about navigating Italian rental contracts

Wood, who after losing his wife in 2015 decided to change life, said relying on advice from distant relatives of his who had already moved to the region a few years earlier proved crucial.

“They suggested I picked a place near the sea, for great summer dips, but at the same time far from the touristy areas and relatively quiet. That’s why I chose Vasto’s pristine rural surroundings,” he says.

‘Get a feel for the place before you move’

Being close to trains that cross Italy and even connect to Europe is vital if one has forsaken driving a car like he has, he says.

Wood advises anyone eager to follow on his steps to never rent or buy property if they haven’t seen it first hand, not just online.

Get advice from friends or other people who have made similar moves, he adds.

The old fishermens huts at Vasto marina. Photo: Tim Wood

“Prior to making the big leap I decided to take a two-week holiday in Vasto and tour the surrounding areas of Abruzzo. It’s important to get a feel of the place not as a tourist but as a local, meeting people, hanging out at the bar till nightfall, getting a haircut at the barber’s and listening to the gossip at the butcher’s shop, even if you hardly speak Italian,” he says.

The warm weather year-round in Vasto was also a major perk, as in some mountain spots in Abruzzo it can be as cold as in England in winter, he says. 

Wood lives off a small pension, plus the remaining revenues from the sale of his UK home. He says he spends around €150 a month for food and locally-sourced fresh produce. 

He’s so glad to be finally living the idyll after what he called a “nightmare” in the UK.

‘Make sure you’re not a victim of a scam’

Almost 24 years ago Wood purchased a two-bedroom apartment in Brighton for £400,000, with a downpayment of £250,000, and had been paying a £500 monthly mortgage since then.

“It was a nightmare. When I retired I realised I no longer wanted to live to pay a mortgage so I decided to move to Italy before post-Brexit new travel rules kicked in.”

Wood put his home on sale and managed to get £550,000. He now lives on a UK yearly pension of £8,000, which he says is more than he will ever need in Vasto. 

He was granted Italian residency in 2017, when the UK was still part of the European Union and Brits did not face the hurdles of today in traveling and relocating to Europe. 

One key tip he shares is to do a lot of prep research. Prior to relocating, he surfed the web to get an idea of what rentals were like in the area and also wanted to make sure he was not going to be a scam victim. 

So during his vacation there, he selected 10 properties, and booked a one-day tour with four local agencies to see them all before he picked the cottage. 

“Online photos don’t work, one needs to see the building and when I stepped into that farmhouse, I felt a special vibe”, says Wood. 

He also recommends meeting the local owners if possible, and starting with them a friendly relationship from the beginning in case there are bumps along the road, like the sewage system breaks down or a tree collapses on the front porch. 

READ ALSO: Italian rental scams: ‘As soon as we handed over the money, we kissed it goodbye’

The cottage was fully furbished, distant only two kilometres from Vasto’s historic quarter. And the icing on the cake was that it came with a 2-acre patch of land, olive trees and vineyard. 

“Locals have been making a premium extra-virgin olive oil here for centuries and I just found these trees in my garden. I now have farmers teaching me how to collect the olives and take them to the press.”

Cost of living and high quality of life are plus points. 

Family-run taverns in the countryside are very cheap and he can afford to eat out almost every night being alone. A meal is just €15, including a glass of wine. 

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