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Renting

Real estate agencies are the safest route to take in renting, since they are licensed professionals familiar with all of the laws regulating rental agreements. They not only assist in finding your new home, and write up the legal paperwork, but continue to act as intermediaries concerning all problems concerning your lease which may later arise. For instance, if something breaks and the landlord will not fix it, you would contact the agency. At the same time, if you did not pay your rent, the landlord could have the agency take care of the problem rather than handling it herself. As I just described above, agencies are not always as discriminating and helpful about the law and your rights as a renter as they could be.

Local papers also advertise apartments and houses for rent, but word of mouth is the Italian way. Universities have message boards where apartments or rooms for rent are commonly posted. Aimed at students, these often have shorter leases, but can contain some of the best deals out
there. However, if you want something long-term it’s still worth asking. These same message boards and newspapers are a great place for you to post an ad for specifically what you are looking for. Going these routes will get you a cheaper deal, at least cutting out the cost of the agency. Foreigners are often assumed to be rich. A friend of mine was introduced by one Italian to a group of his friends as being American and having come to Italy with ‘due sachi di soldi,’ proverbially meaning a lot of money - which certainly wasn’t the case. I experienced this problem often when looking for an apartment.

Rental rates generally increase by a small percentage each year in accordance with the government’s annual cost of living reports. Rent is sometimes paid quarterly, and a common lease is for four years, plus another four years. You can find yearly leases, and more short-term housing is available in university or high tourism areas.

Furnished housing is not very common, as Italians do not regularly move around like Americans do. Short-term tourist housing is furnished and fully equipped, but otherwise partially or unfurnished apartments are the norm.

‘Unfurnished’ housing means exactly that; there will be no fixtures, such as lights, of any sort, along with no kitchen appliances. If you’re renting, you might consider partially furnished lodgings, which would generally include fixtures and appliances. Furnished housing comes with furniture, but usually without plates, cooking supplies, or linen. In furnished housing, the renter is responsible for regular repairs, and the owner is only responsible for large repairs.