For years, whenever we opened a file at the agency and the word ‘gift’ appeared in the property’s history, we already knew that the negotiations would take longer.
Not because there was anything wrong with the house: the flat was in order, the price was reasonable, and the owners were cooperative. The ‘problem’ lay in the origin of the property – that is, the legal basis on which the seller had become the owner. A child who had inherited the property from their parents found it harder to sell than someone who had bought it; well-informed buyers tended to back out, and if a mortgage was required, the bank would often drag its feet and ultimately turn the application down.
Behind this mistrust lay three real issues: the risk that, one day, a brother or sister of the seller might assert their rights to the house; the difficulty of securing a loan against a property that the banks regarded as a risky investment; and a twenty-year timeframe that many described as the threshold beyond which one could sleep soundly.
And this is where the good news comes in: for anyone buying a donated property, the main risk no longer exists. It has not been mitigated or insured against: it has been removed by law. In fact, from 18 December 2025, anyone purchasing a property that has been donated can no longer have it taken away by the heirs of the person who donated it. What remains is a different and much more limited risk, which primarily affects the seller; for the buyer, there is just one check to carry out, but it must be done properly.
Let’s therefore look at why this origin was a cause for concern, what the law stipulates today, what has become of the safeguards that were previously in place, and which checks remain essential before putting a property up for sale.
A necessary disclaimer. This article is intended for information and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a notary or a solicitor. The subject matter concerns inheritance and involves the rights of third parties: each specific situation depends on the dates, deeds and entries in the relevant registers, which only a professional can examine in the documents.
Perché vendere o comprare una casa donata è complesso?
The reason is simpler than legal language might suggest, and stems from a principle of Italian law: the closest family members cannot be completely excluded from the inheritance. When a person dies, part of their estate is reserved by law for certain family members, and the deceased could not freely dispose of this part, either by will or by gifting it whilst still alive.
This is precisely where the link with donations comes in. To check whether that reserved portion has been respected, one does not merely look at what the deceased left upon their death, but also, for the purposes of calculation, includes the properties and sums they had donated whilst still alive. Consequently, a donation made twenty years earlier is not a completely closed chapter, and if it turns out from that calculation that a family member has received less than they were entitled to, that family member may take action.
Having clarified this concept, let us now see how all this might play out in practice.
The action for reduction and the protection of statutory heirs
Who are the statutory heirs and what is the statutory share?
Legitimate heirs are those family members to whom the law reserves a share of the estate: the spouse, the children and, in the absence of children, the parents. This portion is known as the statutory share, or reserved share, and varies depending on who is involved: an only child is entitled to half the estate; where there are several children, they are collectively entitled to two-thirds, to be divided equally amongst them (Article 537 of the Civil Code); and the proportions change further if the spouse is also involved. The remainder is the disposable portion, which the deceased was free to dispose of as they wished.
L’action for reduction It is the legal remedy by which a statutory heir who has received less than their due may apply to the court to set aside the dispositions that have eroded their share: first those set out in the will and, if these are insufficient, the gifts, starting with the most recent one. Only statutory heirs and their heirs may make such a claim (Article 557 of the Civil Code), and the limitation period is ten years. In the case of gifts, those ten years run from the death of the donor; in the case of provisions in a will, from the day on which the beneficiary accepted the inheritance (Court of Cassation, Joint Divisions, Judgment No. 20644 of 25 October 2004).
How it used to be: the claim for restitution extended to the purchaser
Until 17 December 2025, the former Article 563 of the Civil Code allowed the compulsory heir, even where the donated property had already been resold, to claim restitution of the property from subsequent purchasers. This was known as the action for restitution, and it remained valid for up to twenty years from the registration of the donation.
Before turning to the purchaser, however, the heir entitled to a compulsory share had to attempt to recover the property from the donee by seizing their assets (the so-called ‘enforcement’, which the law required as a preliminary condition) and then tracing the property back through previous sales. The purchaser, in turn, could be released from the obligation to return the house by paying the equivalent amount in cash.
What does Article 563 of the Civil Code now provide for?
Article 44 of Law No. 182 of 2 December 2025, which came into force on 18 December 2025, completely rewrote that article.
In fact, the new article stipulates that the reduction in the donation does not affect third parties to whom the donee has disposed of the donated properties, without prejudice to the obligation on the donee to compensate the statutory heirs in cash to the extent necessary to make up the share reserved for them. The heir entitled to a compulsory share does not lose that right, but the subject of that right changes: it is no longer a claim to the house, but a claim for money against the person who received the gift and sold it. If the donee is insolvent, the person who received the asset free of charge (for example, through a subsequent gift in a chain of gifts) must compensate the compulsory heirs up to the limit of the benefit they derived from it; anyone who purchased the asset for a price is not liable. The same rules apply to movable property.
The only exception, and how it arises.
Buyer protection does not apply if, before the purchase is registered, an application for reduction – that is, the formal initiation of legal proceedings by the heir entitled to a compulsory share – has already been recorded in the registers. There is no time limit to be met and no proof of good faith to be provided: only the order in which the entries are made matters.
The issue with bank mortgages: why banks often refuse to grant a mortgage on gifted property
The second reason why the sale or purchase of a house received as a gift is usually a complex process relates to the difficulty of obtaining a bank mortgage.
The banks’ reluctance stemmed from the same root cause. When a bank grants a mortgage, it registers a charge against the property; therefore, if the instalments are not paid, the bank can sell the house and recover the debt from the proceeds. Under the previous system, however, if the property reverted to the compulsory heir, it could be released from the encumbrances and mortgages registered following the gift: the security therefore risked becoming worthless precisely when it was most needed. Consequently, faced with this prospect, many banks preferred not to grant the loan.
Law 182/2025 has also addressed this issue, amending Article 561 of the Civil Code. Indeed, this provision now stipulates that any encumbrances and mortgages with which the donee has burdened the properties returned as a result of the reduction remain in force, and that the donee must compensate the statutory heirs in cash for the resulting reduction in the value of the property. The bank’s guarantee remains in force, and the bill is footed by the person who received the gift. The exception is the same as before: the order of registration matters, and a mortgage registered prior to the registration of any application for reduction is secure.
Time limits and limitation periods: when does a house become ‘secure’?
So far, we have looked at who can take action and against whom. The most frequently asked question remains – one to which, for years, the answer was a countdown: how long must elapse before a donated house becomes ‘secure’?
The twenty years from the registration of the donation: what they used to mean and why they no longer govern the acquisition
Under the former Article 563, the purchaser of a donated property was ‘secure’ only once twenty years had elapsed since the registration of the donation – that is, from the date on which the deed of donation had been entered in the land registers: before that deadline, the heir entitled to a compulsory share could claim the property from the purchaser; after that, they could no longer do so.
Two things made that time limit particularly tricky. The first was that it began from the date of the gift, not from the death of the donor. The second was that the clock could be stopped: indeed, the donor’s spouse and lineal relatives (children, grandchildren, parents) could have a notice of opposition to the gift served and registered, and from that moment onwards the twenty-year period would no longer run. An objection registered in the nineteenth year would place the property back in the risk zone indefinitely: this was the move that scuppered negotiations, and it was sufficient for this to appear on a land registry search.
That provision no longer exists. The new Article 563 contains neither the twenty-year time limit nor the rules on opposition, and the paragraph that provided for this has been repealed. Furthermore, the National Council of Notaries, in the Report No. 06-2026/C of 18 February 2026, adds that from 18 December 2025, whilst the donor is still alive, a notice of objection can no longer even be drawn up. If one turns up in a file that was registered years ago, it is not an obstacle to be removed: it is a formality that the reform has rendered ineffective, subject to the transitional cases discussed below.
The ten-year period following the donor’s death: who is it really intended for?
The ten-year period is something else entirely: it is the time limit within which the compulsory heir may claim that their statutory share has been infringed, and it is counted from the death of the person who made the gift.
What makes all the difference is the effect. Today, the action for reduction results in a sum of money being paid between the compulsory heir and the donee; therefore, those ten years relate to anyone who has received the donation and is selling it, not the buyer. This is the point that must be made clear to anyone selling a house inherited from their parents: the sale is final for the buyer, but it does not preclude the possibility that a sibling, following the death of the parent, might claim their share in cash. And if the recipient of the gift is unable to pay, the heir entitled to a compulsory share is left with a claim against an insolvent debtor (Article 562 of the Civil Code).
The difference between a living donor and a deceased donor
Today, this distinction serves only one purpose: to determine which of the two sets of rules explained above applies. And the criterion is not the date of the donation – which is the detail everyone tends to look at out of habit – but the date of the donor’s death.
| Situation | Applicable law | Position of the purchaser paying a price |
| Donor still alive | New regime (Articles 561, 562 and 563 of the Civil Code, as amended) | The property need not be returned; the compulsory heir shall, at most, have a monetary claim against the donee |
| Donor who died after 18 December 2025 | New regime | You do not have to return the item |
| A donor who died before 18 December 2025, with no application for a reduction or objection having been served and registered by 18 June 2026 | New regime, pursuant to the transitional provision | You do not have to return the item |
| Donor who died before 18 December 2025, where a claim for reduction or a challenge has been served and registered by 18 June 2026 | Previous rules | The case remains subject to the old procedure: the matter must be examined on a case-by-case basis with the notary |
Practical safeguards to enable the sale in 2026
It is worth noting here something that runs counter to the way in which these instruments are still being marketed: most of the safeguards that used to be employed to enable the sale of a donated property are no longer necessary. These were workarounds developed in practice to mitigate a risk that the law has since eliminated at its root.
Insurance policy covering the gift (Donazione Sicura)
The principle was simple: an insurance company insured the buyer – and often the bank granting the mortgage as well – against the loss of the property or financial loss arising from a claim by the heirs. It transferred the risk to a third party and quantified it in the form of a premium; in many cases, it was the bank itself that required this as a condition for granting the mortgage.
Today, for those who pay a price to purchase such cover, that risk no longer exists. This is also stated by the National Council of Notaries in the study referred to above, which describes this cover as an additional cost in the face of a modest risk and notes that the reform has enshrined in law the protection that used to be purchased.
Bank guarantee or guarantee provided by the heirs entitled to a compulsory share
La fideiussione è la garanzia con cui un soggetto (una banca, oppure gli stessi familiari del donante) si impegna a pagare al posto di chi non paga. Qui serviva a rassicurare l’acquirente: se un domani un legittimario avesse agito, c’era qualcuno pronto a coprire il danno.
Sotto il nuovo regime perde il suo oggetto: non c’è più un bene da perdere, quindi non c’è una perdita da garantire. Conserva un senso solo nei casi transitori della quarta riga della tabella.
Risoluzione della donazione per mutuo dissenso
Mutual consent to rescind is the act by which the same parties who had signed a contract decide, by mutual agreement, to rescind it (Article 1372 of the Civil Code). When applied to a gift, this means that the donor and the donee return to the notary and cancel the gift: the house reverts to the assets of the person who donated it, who may then sell it directly to the purchaser, and the fact that it was a gift is removed from the property’s title history. According to the National Council of Notaries, this was the most commonly used remedy prior to the reform.
However, this has two limitations. The first is that A donor who is still alive and willing is required. The second is a tax issue, and it is not as straightforward as it seems. The Italian Revenue Agency, in the Resolution No. 20/E of 14 February 2014, states that if there is no consideration, the deed is registered subject to a fixed registration tax and mortgage and cadastral taxes of 200 euros each, as it does not constitute a new transfer. The Court of Cassation, however, in its Judgment No. 16681 of 17 June 2024 It has been accepted that the Office may reclassify it as a new gift, subject to proportional tax, where this involves an actual new transfer of wealth: in the case in question, the donee had carried out work that had increased the value of the house. The notary’s fees and a margin for dispute must therefore be taken into account.
In any case, this is a course of action that, in the vast majority of cases, no longer needs to be taken.
Formal waiver of the action for reduction
There is a rule here that takes many families by surprise, and which existed even before the reform: whilst the donor is still alive, the heirs entitled to a compulsory share cannot validly waive their right to a reduction. This is laid down in Article 557 of the Civil Code, and the reason is one of protection: the aim is to prevent a family member, perhaps under pressure, from waiving a right that has not yet ariseno.
This document, in which the siblings declare ‘we are all in agreement; no one will make any claim’, signed whilst the parent is still alive, does not have the legal effect attributed to it: it may be valid within family relations but not as a guarantee to be presented to the purchaser. After the donor’s death, the situation changes, because at that point the right has arisen and the compulsory heir may validly waive it.
Verifiche preliminari e documenti indispensabili prima di mettere in vendita
The practical process is shorter than the legislation might lead one to fear: it is not a matter of building a framework of safeguards around the sale, but of reaching the deed of sale with the property’s history properly documented and an inspection carried out at an early stage.
The documents to be prepared
- The original deed of gift, or a certified copy. It states who made the gift, to whom, when and, if applicable, under what conditions. It is the document on which everything else is based: without it, any valuation is merely an assumption.
- The up-to-date mortgage search. This is a search of the land registers that shows what is recorded in respect of the property: mortgages, attachments and, the point that really matters today, any registered applications for reduction or notices of opposition.
- The donor’s family status and, if the donor has died, the death certificate and the declaration of succession. These provide the answers to the two key questions that determine everything: who the compulsory heirs are, and when the succession commenced.
- Planning and building permits. This has nothing to do with the gift, but it is the reason why sales fall through more often than you might think: the property must comply with the planning permission under which it was built and altered. We have covered this in a separate guide on the legal status of the property, which should be checked before publishing the advert.
- The land registry documents and the floor plan reflecting the current state of the property, together with the energy performance certificate: these are required for any sale, gift or other transaction.
Conclusions
Those who have received a house as a gift have lived for years with the notion that they were left with a property that was difficult to sell. From 18 December 2025, this will no longer be the case, and there are three key points to bear in mind:
- Anyone who purchases the property by paying the purchase price can no longer return it to the heirs entitled to a statutory share.
- The bank’s mortgage remains in force; therefore, the fact that the property was acquired by gift is no longer, by its very nature, an obstacle to obtaining a mortgage.
- There remains only one circumstance capable of altering this situation, namely a claim for reduction registered prior to the purchase, which can be verified by means of a land registry search.
The remaining risk concerns the seller: any heir entitled to a compulsory share who feels aggrieved may claim financial compensation from the donee within ten years of the opening of the succession. This is an issue that should be discussed before the sale, with the notary and the family.
Would you like to know whether the house you received as a gift can be sold without any complications?
Bring us the deed of gift: we’ll start from there. We’ll check the registers, clearly explain which of the situations described above applies to you and what that entails, and, if necessary, put you in touch with a solicitor. Contact Idee & Immobili for a valuation and personalised, reliable advice at one of our offices in Tuscany.
