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The contract, the caretaker and the deposit
Renting in Italy runs on paperwork. A proper lease is registered with the tax authorities, and the common forms are the 4+4, four years renewing for four more, and the 3+2, which carries a capped rent in exchange. There is also a contratto transitorio for short stays and a student version. Insist on a registered contract: an unregistered one leaves you with no protection and the landlord with a tax problem. Expect to pay a deposit of two or three months — la caparra — an agency fee of around one month plus tax if an agency is involved, and le spese condominiali on top of the rent every month. Two things that catch newcomers. Heating in many older buildings is centralized and runs on a municipal schedule, switching on and off by date rather than by weather, so an unseasonably cold October can be genuinely uncomfortable. And many buildings still have a portiere or portinaia, a caretaker who takes deliveries, keeps an eye on the stairs and knows everything about everyone — worth greeting properly every single time. Finally, you will need a codice fiscale before you can sign anything at all, which is the subject of the next lesson.