Inherited a House in Lucca, Italy? What to Do

Inheriting a house in Italy means inheriting its history too: the works done by parents or grandparents, the permits that were filed and the ones that never were. Often nobody in the family knows what's in the archive, and it only comes out when a buyer shows up.

Many of the heirs I work with live abroad: children and grandchildren of Italians who emigrated, or families who bought a holiday home decades ago. I'm Salvatore La Rocca, a geometra and technical expert for legal matters in Lucca. Here are the steps from succession to sale, or to dividing the property between heirs, without surprises.

The steps, in order

Succession return (dichiarazione di successione). It must be filed with the Italian Revenue Agency within 12 months of the death, by the heirs or a professional.
Cadastral transfer (voltura catastale). It registers the heirs as owners at the land registry. With the online succession return it is usually automatic.
Acceptance of the inheritance. To sell, it must be recorded in the property registers: the notary takes care of it.
Compliance check. The geometra checks the planning and cadastral status of the property.
Fixing what's wrong. Cadastral update, tolerances, retrospective permit, or completing an old amnesty application.
Sale or division. The deed of sale, or a deed of division between the heirs, before a notary.

Heirs living abroad don't need to travel for every step: much of it can be handled with a power of attorney and by video call.

Before you sell: check the house

Unauthorised works do not disappear when the owner dies: they pass to the heirs with the house. Whoever sells declares compliance in the deed and is liable for it, even if they never did the works.

In family homes I often find:

extensions or verandas built decades ago without a permit;
attics, cellars or garages turned into rooms;
cadastral floor plans never updated after the works;
amnesty applications filed in the 1980s or 90s and never completed;
buildings, or parts of them, never registered at the land registry, such as farm outbuildings and sheds.

The check is the same as before any sale: town hall archive, land registry, survey and comparison. I explain it in The Technical Report for the Notary Deed in Lucca, and the list of documents is in Selling a House in Lucca: the Documents You Need.

If the house is very old and the archive has nothing, it may still be legal: read Old House, No Building Permit on File? It May Still Be Perfectly Legal. If there are irregularities, the routes are explained in Sanatoria, Condono or Salva Casa?

Several heirs: sell together or divide?

When there is more than one heir, the house is jointly owned: it belongs to all of them, each for their share. There are three routes.

1. Sell together

The simplest option: all heirs sign the deed and split the proceeds by their shares. Everyone must agree.

2. One heir buys out the others

One heir keeps the house and pays the others. A shared valuation avoids disputes.

3. Divide the property

If the property allows it, for example a house on two floors or a building with several units, it can be physically divided. That requires:

a division project that meets building rules, because creating new units needs a filing at the town hall;
a cadastral split, with new floor plans;
a valuation of each part, to balance the shares and any compensation.

First of all, the house must be compliant: a property with unresolved irregularities cannot be divided or split at the land registry.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell the house before the succession is done?

No. First you need the succession return and the recorded acceptance of the inheritance. The notary always checks.

Who pays to legalise works done by a parent?

The heirs, because they now own the house. The cost is usually shared by their shares, but heirs can agree otherwise.

After the succession, is the catasto up to date?

The transfer updates the owners, not the floor plan. If the house was altered over the years, the floor plan must be checked and, if needed, updated.

One of the heirs doesn't want to sell. What can we do?

Any heir can ask to end the joint ownership, through the court if necessary. In that case the judge appoints a technician to value and, where possible, divide the property. As a technical expert for legal matters I also handle these valuations, but an agreement between heirs is almost always faster and cheaper.