Giving notice on a rented flat in Italy: the notice period and the letter

You have found your new home, or at least you have decided to look for one. Before the van, the boxes and the keys there is a letter, and that letter decides how many more months of rent you will pay on a flat you no longer live in. It takes ten minutes to write, and the risk is writing it late.

The notice period for leaving a rented flat is counted in months, not weeks. And the months do not start on the day you decide. They start on the day your landlord receives your notice.

The contract first, then the law

Open your contract and look for the word "recesso" (withdrawal). Article 4 of Law 392 of 1978, known as the equo canone law, still applies here. It lets the two parties write into the contract that the tenant can leave at any time. In that case notice must be given by registered letter at least six months before the date you want to leave.

If the clause is there, check how many months it asks for and how the notice must be sent. If it is not there, the contract does not let you leave whenever you like, and you have two options left: serious reasons, covered in the next section, or the end of the contract.

At the end of the contract, the rules depend on the type of lease. For the standard four-plus-four lease, Law 431 of 1998 (article 2) says that at the second expiry, after eight years, either party can decline renewal by sending a registered letter at least six months before. If nobody writes, the contract renews by itself. Short-term leases and university student leases have their own rules (article 5 of the same law): there, the withdrawal clause in your contract matters more than any general rule.

Serious reasons

Whatever your contract says, article 3 of Law 431 and article 4 of Law 392 state that a tenant can withdraw at any time if there are serious reasons (gravi motivi), with six months' notice.

The law does not list what counts as a serious reason. If you think you have one, write it in the letter in plain words and with dates: your landlord needs to understand what it is. If they do not accept it, the argument starts from that line, and an argument like that needs someone who does this for a living: a tenants' association or a lawyer.

One thing serious reasons do not change: six months is still six months. You can shorten it only by agreement with your landlord, and that agreement must be in writing.

The letter: what to write and how to send it

There is no set wording for the letter. It needs a few things, each written out in full:

• your name and your landlord's name, as they appear in the contract;
• the address of the flat and the date the contract was signed;
• what you are doing: withdrawing under the contract clause, withdrawing for serious reasons, or declining renewal at the end of the contract;
• the date you will leave the flat;
• if you are relying on serious reasons, what they are;
• the date of the letter and your signature.

Then it must be sent in a way that leaves proof. The law talks about registered post, and registered post with a return receipt (ricevuta di ritorno) also tells you the day the letter arrived. Article 1334 of the Italian Civil Code says that a notice like this takes effect when it reaches the person it is addressed to: the months count from then, not from the day you post it.

Certified email (PEC, posta elettronica certificata) has the same value as post, unless the law says otherwise (article 48 of the Digital Administration Code). It only works if you both have a certified address: an ordinary email leaves no proof of delivery, and nor does a message on your phone. If the contract requires a specific method, use that one.

Keep a copy of the letter and both receipts in the folder with your contract.

After the letter: the tax office and the date everything rests on

A rental contract is registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, the Italian tax office, and an early end to it must be reported to the same office within thirty days, using form RLI. The Agenzia's page on ending contracts says so. Whether there is a tax to pay depends on the tax regime your landlord has chosen. Ask them who will file the report and get them to send you the receipt: it is the last sheet in that folder.

Every other deadline rests on the date in your letter: the utility bills to close, the inspection when you hand back the flat, the van, the boxes. The real work comes in the last few weeks, and for those there is a list of what to do and when.

Cangubox are booked with two dates too, one for delivery and one for collection, and you can book them up to 120 days ahead. With the date from your letter you know when they need to arrive: early enough before the van to fill them calmly, one room at a time.

So, in order: today, find the withdrawal clause in your contract. Then count back the months of notice from the day you want to leave, and add a few days for the post. Write the letter and send it by registered post with a return receipt or by certified email. When the receipt comes back, the date is set, and you plan the move from there.