Rent and rent increase

Rental prices around Lake Garda are relatively high, and as a general rule, the shorter the duration (decorrenza), the higher the monthly rent (canone d’affitto). 

To avoid paying an overpriced rent for your property, you should always get a general overview in advance of the current price situation for the type of property you want in the respective location. Also avoid rental properties where you are asked to pay the entire year’s rent in advance (in anticipo). In the case of defects (difetti) in the rental property, prepaid rent leaves you with little leverage to ensure that the landlord makes repairs quickly. You should also make sure that the full rent you actually pay is stated in the rental contract. In practice, this is often not the case, as landlords may declare a lower rent in order to reduce the amount of income tax they must pay on their rental income.

During the term of a rental contract, the rent may only be increased once a year, based on the index published by the Italian Statistics Office (ISTAT). In free contracts, this type of rent increase must be expressly stated in the contract. The index is then applied at 100% as the basis for the rent increase (aumento dell’affitto). Regulated contracts, on the other hand, are automatically adjusted annually by this index, but the index is applied at 75% as the basis for the increase.

Any other changes to the contractual terms (clausole contratuali) may only be set at the beginning of a new contract term. These must be communicated by registered mail at least six months before the end of the contract.