One of the most common questions foreign buyers ask is simple. “I know I need a notary. Do I also need a lawyer?” It is an understandable question. The answer depends on how the Italian legal system splits roles between these two very different professionals.
The short answer is that the notary and the lawyer serve entirely different purposes. In most Italian property transactions involving foreign buyers, having both is not duplication. It is the appropriate level of protection for one of the largest financial commitments a person makes.
The Role of the Notary (Notaio)
The notary in Italy is a public official appointed by the state. Their primary function is to authenticate the final deed of sale, the rogito. They also ensure that the transaction complies with Italian law. The notary verifies the identity of the parties and checks certain aspects of the title. They calculate and collect the applicable taxes on behalf of the state. They also register the deed at the land registry.
The Italian notarial system is highly developed and carries real legal weight. A deed authenticated by a notary has a specific form of public authenticity (pubblica fede). This makes it definitive and binding. The notary also bears personal civil liability for certain aspects of the transaction. This provides an important layer of institutional protection.
The key point to understand is that the notary acts as a neutral figure. The notary does not represent the buyer or the seller. Instead, they represent the transaction itself and the legal requirements of the state. Their role begins when the parties are already in agreement and ready to proceed to the final deed. This means they will not advise you on whether the deal is a good one, identify risks in the property’s history, or negotiate on your behalf.
The buyer traditionally chooses the notary and bears their fees. This is worth knowing: the notary you appoint works for the transaction, not for you personally.
The Role of the Buyer’s Lawyer (Avvocato)
A lawyer acting for the buyer plays a fundamentally different role. They work exclusively in the buyer’s interest. This starts from the very beginning of the process, long before the notary becomes involved.
In a typical Italian property purchase, the lawyer’s work covers several distinct phases. Before the purchase proposal or preliminary contract, the lawyer carries out full legal due diligence on the property. This means verifying title at the land registry, and checking for mortgages, liens or other encumbrances. It also means reviewing cadastral compliance and examining planning and building permits.
The lawyer investigates the property’s ownership history too, and identifies any issues that could affect the transaction: unauthorised building works, unresolved inheritance matters, easements, or environmental constraints. They advise the client on what these issues mean before any commitment is made, and review the purchase proposal before the client signs and pays any deposit.
At the preliminary contract stage, the lawyer reviews and negotiates its terms. This covers the payment schedule, the completion date, and any conditions or clauses that protect the buyer’s position. The lawyer also advises on the deposit structure and the legal consequences of withdrawal by either party. They liaise with the seller’s side and the estate agent on the client’s behalf too.
Between the preliminary contract and the final deed, the lawyer keeps monitoring the resolution of any outstanding issues from due diligence. They coordinate with the notary on preparing the final deed. They advise on how to structure the price payment, including whether to use the statutory deposit mechanism with the notary. This mechanism protects the buyer against last-minute encumbrances. For clients completing remotely by power of attorney, the lawyer also manages the logistics of the transaction.
At and after completion, the lawyer attends the signing, or acts under power of attorney on the client’s behalf. They verify the final deed before signature. They also advise on post-completion steps: cadastral transfer, utility connections, tax residence implications, and rental regulations.
Where the Roles Do Not Overlap
It is worth being explicit about what each professional does, and does not do.
The notary carries out thorough legal checks while preparing the deed. This includes verifying title, checking for mortgages and encumbrances at the land registry, and reviewing the chain of ownership. The notary does not carry out the technical and planning due diligence that a buyer’s lawyer coordinates. That means verifying building compliance, checking cadastral conformity, reviewing planning permits, and assessing the property’s physical and regulatory history. This typically involves instructing a qualified local surveyor (geometra) alongside the legal checks. The buyer’s lawyer identifies what needs investigating. They instruct the right professionals and interpret the findings in context.
Equally, the lawyer does not authenticate deeds or collect taxes. Those remain reserved functions of the notary. The two roles work as complements, not competitors.
In some countries, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the solicitor or conveyancer handles the full transaction. This includes functions that Italy splits between the notary and the lawyer. Buyers from these countries sometimes assume the notary covers everything their solicitor would do at home. This is the most common source of misunderstanding. It can lead buyers to proceed without independent legal representation, believing the notary’s involvement offers enough protection.
Practical Examples of What a Lawyer Finds That the Notary Does Not
Proper due diligence often uncovers issues that the notary’s standard checks would not necessarily catch. Here are some concrete examples.
An extension might get built without planning permission. It may not show up in the cadastral plans, and the seller may not disclose it. The buyer would inherit responsibility for it at completion. A mortgage might sit registered against the property. The seller may promise it will be discharged from the sale proceeds, but the preliminary contract may lack any firm mechanism to guarantee this before the buyer’s money is released. A property might originate from a donation. This can carry potential claims by forced heirs, which need assessment under the transitional rules following the 2025 reform of Italian succession law.
Condominium arrears sometimes go undisclosed in the preliminary contract. Italian law makes these the buyer’s responsibility for the current and previous year regardless. A property in a rural area might have an access road crossing private land without a registered right of way. A condominium’s contractual regulations might include a short-term rental restriction. This could prevent the buyer from using the property as intended.
None of these issues would necessarily block a transaction from completion. But each one changes the risk profile of the purchase. A properly advised buyer can negotiate accordingly, or decide not to proceed, before making an irreversible commitment.
Do You Need Both?
For a straightforward purchase between Italian parties who know each other and the property well, the transaction sometimes proceeds with only the notary. Italian buyers with experience of the local market sometimes make that choice.
Foreign buyers face a different situation, though. You may not know the legal system, the language, or the administrative practices. You may be buying at a distance, sometimes by power of attorney. In this situation, the question answers itself. The notary provides the legal framework for the transaction. The lawyer provides the protection of your interests within that framework.
The cost of independent legal representation stays modest relative to the value of most property transactions. The cost of discovering a serious problem after completion can run very high indeed. By then, the money has been paid and the deed signed.
How We Can Help
Magaraggia Law Firm provides independent legal assistance to international buyers throughout the Italian property transaction. Our role is not limited to reviewing documents. We manage the entire process on your behalf. This spans the initial legal due diligence on the property, negotiating with the seller and the estate agent, and coordinating with the notary through to completion. Our objective is to protect your interests at every step and to eliminate legal and financial risk as far as possible. We advise in English, French and Spanish, and we work across all of Italy.
If you are considering a property purchase in Italy, contact us for a free initial consultation. We can help you understand what independent legal assistance involves:
info@studiolegalemagaraggia.it
+39 328 071 0278