Vacant, occupied or leased: the property status in the notice

What do vacant, occupied and leased mean?

Vacant means that, at the time of the appraisal report, nobody lives in the property. It does not mean you will find it empty the day after the auction: the court-appointed custodian (custode), the person appointed by the judge to look after the property, handles the handover and checks its condition.

Occupied means that someone lives there without a contract that gives them the right to stay. This is usually the debtor whose property is being sold to pay their debts. It can also be a family member or a third party living there without any legal title.

Leased means that a rental contract is in force. It is not an unlawful occupation, but it is not a detail to ignore: the lease may remain valid for the buyer, or it may not. You will find it in the part of the appraisal report dedicated to possession.

The appraisal report must always state what condition the property is in and, if it is occupied, on what legal basis. It is the most reliable source, more so than the notice.

If the debtor lives there, when can I get in?

If the owner lives in the property with their family, the law allows them to stay until the transfer decree (decreto di trasferimento). The decree is the document by which the judge transfers ownership to you, after you have paid the price. The condition is that the owner keeps the property in good condition and cooperates with viewings, as provided by Article 560 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

After the decree, the vacate order (ordine di liberazione) is enforced by the custodian. A separate lawsuit is usually not needed, unless you ask to deal with it yourself. The actual timing depends on the court and the case, so there is no fixed number I can give you with certainty.

The most concrete risk is that the owner does not let people in for viewings or leaves the property in poor condition. To find out, check the viewing dates on the Public Sales Portal (Portale delle Vendite Pubbliche, PVP) and ask the custodian for written information on the condition of the property.

What if there are third parties without a contract?

At times, people who are not the owner and do not have a valid contract live in the property. They may have a comodato, meaning a free loan of the house, which is not enforceable against the buyer at auction. In such cases the judge can order the eviction even before the transfer decree.

Do not count on a precise date. Eviction requires going through court, and timing varies from case to case. Before bidding, ask yourself how much time and patience you have for a procedure like this, and how much it would bother you to wait before using the house.

If there is a lease in place: does the contract remain valid?

The rule is precise, but it is not automatic. Article 2923 of the Civil Code provides that you must honour the lease if it has a certain date earlier than the seizure (pignoramento), meaning it was registered before the proceedings began. If the contract is more recent, it usually does not apply against you.

There is also another exception: the contract cannot be enforced against you if the rent is lower by a third than the fair price, or than that of previous leases. The fair price is assessed by the appraisal report, so you make the comparison there.

Example, with invented figures. Base price (prezzo base) €100,000. The tenant pays €400 a month, the contract was registered in 2019 and the seizure is from 2024. The contract remains valid for you too: you step in as landlord, collect the rent from the decree onwards and cannot send the tenant away straight away. At expiry you may refuse to renew only in the cases provided by law.

To understand how things stand, look in the appraisal report for the date of the contract, the rent, whether it is registered and the expert's assessment of the rental value. For the full procedure of a notice, you can read how to read a sale notice, line by line.

Shares, unlawful works and costs: what you do not see at first

The occupation status is not the only risk. There are other things the notice does not tell you in full.

If the auction concerns an undivided share, meaning only a part of a property (for example half) owned by several people, you do not get exclusive use of the house. You become a co-owner with the others and can ask for the division. The case is explained in the article on buying an undivided share at auction.

In a court auction there is no warranty for defects in the property, as set out in Article 2922 of the Civil Code. You cannot ask for a price reduction or the cancellation of the purchase because you find a fault: you buy the condition described in the appraisal report.

The condominium (building owners' association) may ask the successful bidder for the charges of the current year and of the previous one, as provided by Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code. Older charges remain the responsibility of the former owner. For this reason, before bidding, ask the building administrator how much is due.

Finally, unauthorised building works (abuso edilizio). The appraisal report must state whether there are any and how much it would cost to regularise them. If they can be regularised, you have 120 days from the notification of the transfer decree to do so. If they cannot be regularised, you must remove them at your own expense. These costs are added to the award price.

In practice

• Look in the sale notice for the word «libero» or «occupato» and compare it with the possession section of the appraisal report.
• If the property is occupied, ask the custodian in writing who lives there and on what basis.
• If there is a lease, note the contract date, the rent and the registration, and check whether it is enforceable against you.
• Ask the condominium administrator how many charges are in arrears and which ones will remain your responsibility.
• Read the section on unauthorised building works in the appraisal report and calculate the regularisation costs before bidding.

To understand how the whole procedure works after the notice, read how a property auction works, from the notice to the keys. If you want to see real listings, you can start with the current auctions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take part in the auction if the property is occupied?

Yes, you can take part. However, you should know that handing over the property may take time and court steps. For this reason it is wise to read the appraisal report and the custodian's instructions before bidding.

Can I visit an occupied house?

Viewings are booked through the Public Sales Portal and the custodian arranges them. If the owner does not cooperate, the viewing may be complicated: the custodian will tell you how it works.

If there is a tenant, do I have to honour their contract?

It depends on the date of the contract and its registration. If the contract is enforceable against you, yes: you step in as landlord. If it is not, you can ask for eviction under the procedure provided.

If the debtor does not leave, what happens?

After the transfer decree, the vacate order is enforced by the custodian. If the case is complicated, eviction may take longer, and it is advisable to be assisted by a professional you trust.

Sources

• Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 560 (custodian and eviction)
• Civil Code, Art. 2923 (leases and forced sale)
• Civil Code, Art. 2922 (no warranty for defects in forced sale)
• Public Sales Portal
• Ministry of Justice