The notary does not check whether the building matches its permits. In Italy that verification is nobody’s job unless the buyer commissions it, which surprises almost every buyer from the UK or the United States, where the solicitor or escrow process is assumed to cover everything. A technical survey, commissioned by the buyer and carried out by a licensed surveyor (geometra), fills that gap. It typically costs 2,000 to 5,000 euros and takes three to six weeks.
What the notary checks, and what your surveyor checks
The notary works on title and registration. He follows the chain of ownership back twenty years, confirms what is recorded against the property, clears mortgages and charges, and handles the tax mechanics. He also records in the deed the building-permit references that the seller declares, and the deed cannot be completed if those references are missing. What the notary does not do is verify that the building as it currently stands matches those permits. That physical check is the seller’s declared responsibility and, in practice, confirmed by an independent surveyor working for the buyer.
The legal side belongs to the notary; the physical side to your own technician. A buyer who relies only on the notary has confirmed that the title is clean and the floor plan is on file, but not that the converted barn or the pool were ever permitted.
| Question | Confirmed by |
|---|---|
| Clean title and ownership chain (20 years) | Notary |
| Cadastral plan matches the property | Notary |
| Identity of the parties and source of funds | Notary |
| The building matches its permits | Your surveyor |
| Heritage and landscape constraints on future work | Your surveyor |
| Pool, outbuildings, and change of use properly recorded | Your surveyor |
Building-permit conformity, the check that matters most
Building-permit conformity is the most common issue with Tuscan country houses, and it is the reason the survey exists. The question is straightforward: does the house as it stands today match the permits the municipality holds? In farmhouses adapted over decades, the answer is often “nearly.” An extension here, a window enlarged there, a barn converted to living space, a pool added without the right paperwork.
Most of that can be put right. A surveyor reconstructs the building’s permit history and maps it against the property as it stands. Where something is missing, it is generally regularised through a retroactive permit (sanatoria), at a cost that can range from a few thousand euros for a minor ground-floor change to considerably more where living space was added without permission. A small number of changes cannot be regularised at all, and identifying those before the offer, not after, is what the exercise is for. Older structures built before September 1967 are a separate category: they can be legally valid without a modern permit, which applies to many Tuscan farmhouses, and the surveyor establishes whether that is the case.
| Issue | Regularisation cost | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Minor internal change (wall repositioned) | 1,000–5,000 EUR | 2–4 months |
| Pool without permit | 5,000–20,000 EUR | 3–8 months |
| Barn converted to living space | 10,000–20,000 EUR+ | 6–12 months |
| Change that cannot be regularised | Demolition required | — |
Since 2024, the Salva Casa decree has simplified the route to regularising certain minor deviations, which is useful for older houses. In Tuscany, where landscape protection is widespread, the practical benefit is more limited than the headline suggests, but genuinely minor discrepancies are now easier to clear.
Constraints on what you can do next
Most Tuscan properties sit under one or more constraints that shape what any future work will involve. Landscape protection covers large parts of the region, including the Val d’Orcia, Chianti, and the Maremma coast. Any external intervention (a pool, an extension, a terrace, solar panels on the ground) requires an additional approval from the Soprintendenza, which adds several months to the timeline and applies conditions that vary by site.
Some buildings carry heritage protection, which brings notification duties on sale, a state right of pre-emption of sixty days, and mandatory approval for any physical intervention. Hillside plots often fall under slope protection, relevant to pools and access roads. Renovation costs on heritage properties typically run one and a half to two and a half times those on an unprotected building.
None of this stops most sales or most projects. What it does is change the timeline and the budget. Knowing the constraints before you buy means you can plan around them; discovering them afterwards means adjusting expectations once the keys are yours.
What a property survey costs, and what it takes
A full technical survey covers the permit history and conformity, the cadastral position, the constraints on the property, and whether any pool or outbuildings are properly recorded; for larger plots it also confirms the permitted use under the municipal plan. The surveyor coordinates directly with the cadastral office and the local authority, which is why the work takes weeks rather than days, and why familiarity with the local authorities makes a practical difference to how quickly documents are returned.
| Element | Cost (EUR) | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Permit history and building conformity | 1,500–4,000 | 2–6 weeks |
| Cadastral check and any correction | 500–1,500 | 1–3 weeks |
| Constraints research (heritage, landscape, slope) | 500–1,500 | 1–2 weeks |
| Typical total | 2,000–5,000 | 3–6 weeks |
On an estate with several buildings, historic fabric, and farmland, a thorough survey can run to 5,000 to 7,000 euros — still a small figure relative to the price of the property.
The sequence that protects you
Due diligence belongs before the purchase offer, not after it. A condition written into the offer (proposta) makes the sale contingent on a clean survey: if the surveyor finds something material, the buyer can renegotiate or step back. Once the preliminary contract (compromesso) is signed, both parties are committed and that leverage is gone. The survey takes weeks, so commissioning it while the offer is being framed is the right moment. Getting the sequence correct is most of what good buying support is for. The broader range of oversights that cost buyers time and money is covered in 7 mistakes foreign buyers make in Italy.
FAQ: Due diligence when buying property in Italy
When should due diligence start?
Before the purchase offer. The survey takes three to six weeks, and the protection it provides depends on a condition written into the offer that allows you to renegotiate or withdraw if something turns up. Starting after the preliminary contract means you are already committed, with a deposit down, and your room to act on the findings has narrowed considerably.
Who pays for the survey?
The buyer pays, as the buyer is the one the survey protects. The notary, also paid by the buyer, handles the title and cadastral checks on the legal side. Only the energy certificate (APE) falls to the seller. A buyer’s agent coordinating the purchase incorporates these costs into the plan from the start.
Can I organise the survey from abroad?
Yes. The surveyor works on site; most coordination happens by email and phone, which is routine for buyers who are not based in Italy. The inspection itself happens in person, where the surveyor compares the building against the plans on the ground. Many buyers run the whole process remotely while their agent and surveyor handle the local steps.
What if the survey finds a problem?
Most problems are resolved, not deal-breakers. A missing permit is usually regularised, and who pays is a matter for negotiation, which is exactly why the survey belongs before the offer. A few changes cannot be regularised; there, the value of the survey is learning it before you are committed rather than inheriting it. Either way, the finding works in your favour.
Has Salva Casa made due diligence less necessary?
No, it has made more problems fixable. The 2024 decree simplified the route to regularising certain minor deviations, so some issues that were previously obstacles can now be cleared. That benefits older houses, but it does not remove the need for a survey: only a survey tells you whether a given deviation qualifies under the new rules.
Andrej Avi is an estate agent in Tuscany who guides buyers through the purchase, from the survey to the deed. Buying guidance · What the notary checks · Properties · About Andrej
As of July 2026. Not legal or tax advice.
