Can British citizens buy property in Italy? Yes. Brexit added a check, and the notaries treat it as met.

Can British citizens still buy property in Italy after Brexit?

Yes. Italy has no ban on foreign owners. Since 1 January 2021 a British citizen is a non-EU buyer, so the reciprocity condition in Article 16 of the preliminary provisions to the Civil Code applies, and the prevailing view among Italian notaries is that it is met for British buyers. The notary who draws up the deed confirms it at signing.

Reciprocity means a foreigner enjoys the civil rights of an Italian citizen to the extent an Italian could do the same act in the foreigner's country. In March 2021 the Italian Council of Notaries published a note on British buyers, which the UK government hosts. It records that the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement would seem to exempt property purchases from the reciprocity check, and that the authors who addressed purchases made for personal reasons, not for a business, read it the same way.

A 2025 notarial practice guide puts the position the same way: the prevailing notarial interpretation recognises reciprocity for British citizens even without an Italian permit, with formal verification from the Foreign Ministry suggested for complex or high-value transactions. The Foreign Ministry publishes the official country list. Ask your notary early, not at the table.

Does it matter if I lived in Italy before Brexit?

Yes, in your favour. A British citizen lawfully living in Italy before 31 December 2020, and still living there, is protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, which bars discrimination on nationality. For them the reciprocity check does not apply, and no non-EU residence permit is needed to buy.

The notaries' note was written because some notaries had been asking protected British residents for a non-EU residence permit before a purchase. The note says that practice is not justified. Proof of protected status is the residence document: the biometric card issued under Article 18(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement is the clearest, and the registration with the comune also counts.

A British citizen who arrived after 2020 is a non-EU buyer in every respect. Holding an Italian residence permit for work, family or study exempts from the check as well.

What does a British buyer need before buying in Italy?

An Italian tax code, the codice fiscale, which a non-resident can get through an Italian consulate. Then a preliminary contract, the compromesso, registered within 30 days, and a final deed signed before a notary, who checks title and the cadastral records and pays the purchase taxes.

The notary is a neutral public official, not your lawyer. You may also hire your own lawyer; it is optional. The deed must state the cadastral data on pain of nullity, which is why the visura catastale matters: the visura catastale, explained.

The price moves by bank transfer or banker's cheque, and the deed records how it was paid. Getting the money there: sending money to Italy for a property purchase.

Does an Italian house let a British owner stay longer?

No. Owning property in Italy gives no right of residence, and Italy has never had a property golden visa. As non-EU nationals, British visitors are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, and owning the house does not extend it.

Italy's Investor Visa needs EUR 250,000 to EUR 2,000,000 in start-ups, companies, government bonds or a public-interest donation. Buying real estate is not one of the routes.

Living in Italy for longer means a residence permit with its own conditions. Moving tax residence to Italy is a separate step again and is not covered here.

What does the purchase cost, and what does it cost to hold?

Buying a resale home from a private seller: 9% registration tax, minimum EUR 1,000, plus EUR 50 mortgage tax and EUR 50 cadastral tax, which a private buyer can ask to have charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. Yearly, IMU on a second home runs from a base of 0.86%, set by each comune up to 1.06%.

The 2% prima casa rate needs the home to be in the comune where you live, or a move of residence there within 18 months declared in the deed. A holiday-home buyer normally will not qualify.

Nationality does not change any of these rates. Every one-off cost: Italy property buying costs. The yearly taxes: Italy property tax for foreigners.

Does HMRC tax rent from an Italian property?

If you are UK resident, normally yes. GOV.UK lists rental income on overseas property as foreign income that UK residents normally pay tax on. Italy taxes the rent too, and you can usually claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief for the Italian tax, by an amount that depends on the UK-Italy double taxation agreement.

In Italy, rent is taxed under IRPEF at 23%, 33% or 43% on 95% of the contract rent, and a flat 21% option, the cedolare secca, exists for residential leases. Whether a non-resident should choose it is a question for an accountant who knows both systems.

On a sale, Italy taxes a gain on a building only if it is sold within 5 years of purchase, unless it was the seller's main residence for most of that time or was inherited, with a flat 26% option at the deed. The full exit: selling property in Italy as a foreigner.

Header photo: Amaunet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.