Properties transferred by way of gift, known in Italian as immobili di provenienza donativa, have long carried a reputation for legal complexity. Banks were reluctant to mortgage them. Buyers were often cautioned to look elsewhere.
That landscape has fundamentally changed. A major reform enacted in December 2025 eliminated the main legal risk for buyers of donated properties. For most transactions today, purchasing a property with a donation in its history is no more complicated than any other purchase, provided you carry out the right due diligence.
This article explains the legal background, what the 2025 reform changed, what limited residual risk remains, and what steps remain advisable.
1. The Previous Problem: Why Donated Properties Were Treated with Caution
Under Italian law, certain close relatives, known as legittimari or forced heirs, are entitled to a reserved share of a person’s estate. Say a person made gifts during their lifetime that reduced what was available to forced heirs, below the legally protected minimum. Those heirs could then challenge the gifts after the donor’s death.
The problem for buyers was never the challenge itself. It was the consequences. Under the rules that applied until December 2025, a successful heir could pursue the original recipient of the gift. They could also pursue any subsequent purchaser. This included an innocent buyer with no connection to the family, who had paid full market value. This action, the azione di restituzione, could in principle cost a buyer the property years after purchase.
This uncertainty made donated properties difficult to sell. It also made them nearly impossible to mortgage. It was a structural problem. The Italian legal community and the Notarial Council had pressed to resolve it for over a decade.
2. The 2025 Reform: The Problem Is Now Solved
Law 182 of 2 December 2025 came into force on 18 December 2025. It introduced a fundamental change to the Italian Civil Code. The key provision is Article 44, which rewrites Articles 561 and 563 of the Civil Code.
The effect is clear and unambiguous. Lawmakers abolished the azione di restituzione against third-party purchasers. A forced heir who successfully challenges a donation can no longer pursue the property from the person who bought it. Their remedy is now exclusively financial: a claim against the original donee, the person who received the gift, for monetary compensation.
In practical terms: if you buy a property that was donated, and a forced heir later successfully challenges that donation, they cannot take the property from you. You keep the property. The heir’s only recourse is a financial claim against the seller. That is entirely the seller’s problem, not yours.
This is a complete reversal of the previous position. The reform brings Italy into line with most other European legal systems. It removes what had been an anomaly in Italian property law.
3. The One Residual Risk: Transitional Cases
The 2025 reform applies fully to all successions opened on or after 18 December 2025. For successions opened before that date, the previous rules continue to apply. This means the donor died before 18 December 2025 in these cases.
A limited and diminishing category of cases still carries the old risk. This applies to properties donated by someone who died before 18 December 2025, where a forced heir has not yet brought proceedings. In these cases, the pre-reform rules still govern. A buyer could in principle still face an action by a forced heir.
This transitional risk will diminish over time as pre-reform successions get resolved. But it is real today. Do not overlook it when purchasing a property where the original donor died before the reform came into force.
Two tools remain useful for this category of cases. A careful review of the title history and succession circumstances can assess whether any forced heirs exist. It can also assess whether they have any realistic basis for a claim. Title insurance (polizza di provenienza donativa) provides financial protection against claims arising from the donation, including legal costs and, where applicable, compensation. Premiums are a one-off cost, typically a small percentage of the property value, and coverage can extend for twenty years. Several Italian insurers offer these policies, and they remain sensible for transitional cases.
4. Due Diligence: What to Check Before Buying
For any donated property, a proper legal review should establish several things. First, check whether the original donor is still alive. If so, the 2025 reform applies fully and eliminates the risk to the buyer. If the donor has died, check whether the death occurred before or after 18 December 2025. If after, the new rules apply and protect the buyer. If before, the transitional regime applies, and you need further assessment.
In transitional cases, check whether the donor had forced heirs. Check too whether any of them have already brought or threatened legal proceedings. Also check whether someone filed an opposizione alla donazione at the land registry. Finally, check whether title insurance is available and appropriate for the specific transaction.
This review requires access to land registry records, cadastral documents, and sometimes family status documentation. You cannot assess this from a property listing alone. It is entirely manageable, though, with proper legal assistance.
5. A Note on Mortgages
The reform brings one practical consequence. Banks and other lenders should, over time, become more willing to grant mortgages on donated properties. The reform removed the legal obstacle that made these properties difficult to use as security.
In practice, some lenders may take time to update their internal policies. For now, it is worth checking the position with the lender early in the transaction, particularly for properties in the transitional category. This is a practical issue rather than a legal one, and it is resolving itself as the reform beds in.
6. Summary: Where Things Now Stand
For properties donated by someone who is still alive, the buyer faces no risk: the 2025 reform fully protects you. The same applies to properties donated by someone who died after 18 December 2025, since the new rules apply. For properties donated by someone who died before 18 December 2025, limited residual risk remains under the transitional regime. A proper title review is essential, and title insurance is worth considering.
How We Can Help
Magaraggia Law Firm assists international buyers at every stage of the Italian property transaction. Our role is not limited to advising on specific legal issues. We manage the entire process on your behalf. This includes the initial legal due diligence on the property, a full review of its title history, 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.
Whether you are considering a property with a donation in its history, or simply want to understand your legal position before signing anything, contact us for a free initial consultation:
info@studiolegalemagaraggia.it
+39 328 071 0278