Types of premises and the categoria catastale

Every building in Italy has an entry in the land registry, and in that entry the premises receive a categoria catastale — a category that defines, on paper, what it is meant for. A shop, a café, a workshop, a warehouse, an office and a production unit belong to different categories, and it's the category — not how the premises look, nor a verbal deal with the landlord — that determines what activity may legally happen there.

In practice an entrepreneur judges the premises by how they look, but the land registry doesn't always match reality — a unit may once have been an office and is now let as a food outlet. The formal category stays the old one, and it is that category, not the actual use, that carries legal weight.

The second layer is the destinazione d'uso, the intended use set by the comune's urban planning scheme. The categoria catastale and the destinazione d'uso must be consistent with each other and with the actual activity. If the planned activity doesn't match them, a change is needed — the mutamento di destinazione d'uso, a procedure run by the comune that can require design documentation, approvals and time.

Lawyer's tip. Before signing a preliminary lease or purchase agreement, ask the owner for the land registry extract and a certificate on the premises' planning status. These are two separate documents: the first shows the category, the second whether the comune's plan allows the intended activity.

The consequence is simple: premises that look perfect for a restaurant or an office may legally suit neither, until the change-of-use procedure is complete. Without it, licensing the activity and registering the company at that address are either impossible or happen with a breach the authority discovers later, once the business is running and the money is spent.

Leasing: locazione ad uso diverso dall'abitativo

Leasing premises for a business isn't governed by the same law as residential leasing, but by a separate regime — the locazione ad uso diverso dall'abitativo, literally "lease for a use other than residential." It covers shops, offices, workshops, warehouses and food outlets. Term, renewal, guarantees and compensation on termination are structured differently, and more protectively for a tenant who has invested in fitting out the premises than under a residential lease.

The minimum term and renewal rules are set by law and depend on the type of activity. We deliberately don't give a number of years here: the exact figures need checking in the current law on non-residential leases, or with the lawyer drafting the contract.

Indennità per la perdita dell'avviamento

If the landlord refuses to renew through no fault of the tenant, the law provides the right to the indennità per la perdita dell'avviamento — compensation for the goodwill and clientele built up around that place of business. It's tied to the turnover of the activity and the reason the lease ends, not to a fixed sum — best to have a lawyer calculate it before, not after, termination.

Diritto di prelazione

A tenant of non-residential premises generally holds the diritto di prelazione — first refusal to buy if the owner decides to sell, plus priority on a new contract on the same terms if the owner plans to let the premises again. The owner must notify the tenant and give time to respond before dealing with a third party.

Deposit, guarantees and fit-out works

The landlord usually requires a deposito cauzionale, a cash deposit against damage or non-payment. For a new foreign company with no credit history in Italy, owners often ask for more: a bank fideiussione bancaria, or a personal guarantee from the business owner. These terms aren't set by law, they're negotiated — and this is exactly where a contract drafted under a lawyer's guidance differs most from one signed "as the landlord proposed."

Who pays for fit-out works, and who keeps the improvements once the lease ends, is likewise a matter of contract — often written vaguely in the landlord's favour, and a source of disputes on move-out when the tenant has invested and the contract is silent on reimbursement.

Buying commercial premises

Buying commercial property goes through a notaio, but taxation depends on who the seller is. A developer or a business within the VAT regime usually makes the deal subject to IVA. A private individual or a company outside that regime means the imposta di registro applies. On top come the imposta ipotecaria and imposta catastale.

Rates vary by the category of the premises, the status of seller and buyer, and can change by law. We deliberately don't give percentages here — they're variable and need checking at the time of the deal with the Agenzia delle Entrate or the notary.

Lawyer's tip. Before paying a deposit, have the premises checked in the mortgage register for any liens, mortgages or judicial encumbrances registered against the property. Commercial premises are often tied to the selling company's business and can carry debts not visible on a first read of the contract.

Banks lend a mutuo for commercial property on different terms than for housing: a higher down payment, closer scrutiny of the business plan, and for a foreign company with no track record in Italy, often extra guarantees. Approach the bank with documents prepared in advance, not after the deal is already agreed with the seller.

Permits tied to the activity

It's important to separate two layers of documents: those relating to the premises (categoria catastale, destinazione d'uso, building permits) and those relating to the activity carried out there. The second group — the SCIA (notice to start an activity), a trade licence, a health authorisation for food outlets, registration with the Camera di Commercio — is issued to a specific company and doesn't pass automatically from a previous tenant or owner.

Premises with the correct categoria catastale don't automatically grant the right to start an activity straight away: an entrepreneur goes through a separate opening procedure depending on the type of business. The full list of permits and licences is covered in our article on licences and permits for business in Italy — here we focus on how permits relate specifically to the premises.

A typical mistake is signing a lease or buying premises and only afterwards discovering that they lack the classification needed for the planned activity, or that the activity requires an approval the premises physically can't pass without renovation. Checking whether the premises are even suitable for a given kind of licence should happen before signing, not after.

Taxes and mandatory charges

The owner of commercial property pays IMU — the property tax that, for commercial premises unlike a main residence, carries no relief and is paid in full every year at rates each comune sets independently. The exact rate for a given premises and category needs to be checked every year in the relevant comune's regolamento, because rates can change.

TARI, the waste tax, is also due, calculated for commercial premises by a different method than for housing. A non-residential lease must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, which comes with a separate registration tax that the parties can split or assign to one of them.

For a company operating in the premises, property taxes are only part of the overall tax burden alongside corporate income tax, VAT on the company's transactions, and contributions. A comprehensive overview of business taxation in Italy, including bookkeeping, is in our article on taxes and accounting for business in Italy.

Lawyer's tip. IMU on commercial premises is charged regardless of whether they're let or sitting empty. When budgeting, treat this tax as a fixed cost of ownership, not something that can be put off.

Common mistakes and risks

The most expensive mistake is signing a lease or a purchase without checking whether the premises' categoria catastale and destinazione d'uso match the planned activity. The entrepreneur signs the contract, invests in renovation and equipment, files for a permit — and at that point the comune refuses it, because the premises are formally not designated for that use. The money is already spent, and a change of use is a separate procedure with an unpredictable timeline.

The second common risk is a lease drafted without regard for the tenant's rights under a locazione ad uso diverso: an understated term, no mention of the indennità, unclear terms on refurbishment works. Such a contract is formally signed, but some of its terms may conflict with mandatory rules of law and be challenged — challenging it after signing costs far more, and takes far longer, than checking the contract before signing.

Commercial premises, especially for food service or retail with visitors, are subject to a series of mandatory safety checks:

Ignoring any of these doesn't always stop the business opening straight away — often the inspection comes later, when suspending the activity or a fine costs more than a timely consultation before signing would have.

How we support commercial real estate for business

Working with commercial real estate in Italy brings together two disciplines that are rarely handled equally well in one place: legal review of the premises and the contract, and an accountant's calculation of the tax burden. We run both together, so the client isn't sourcing a lawyer separately from an accountant, but gets one coordinated answer: what can be done in that unit, on what terms to lease or buy it, and how much it will cost the company each year.

The accountant on our team runs the numbers: checking how the planned premises and the type of lease or purchase will affect the company's tax burden, how to book lease payments or depreciate purchased premises, preparing the figures for a bank when applying for a mutuo. But the numbers are only half the job. When it comes to the lease itself, a refusal to approve a change of destinazione d'uso, or a dispute with the landlord over the indennità on termination, that's already a matter of defending the company's rights, and that calls for a lawyer, not an accountant.

Before signing any lease or preliminary purchase agreement we check: the categoria catastale and whether it matches the planned activity, the planning status and whether a change of destinazione d'uso is needed, any encumbrances or court proceedings against the property, the contract terms on duration, renewal, indennità, deposit and guarantees, and for a purchase, the seller's legal status and the deal's tax treatment. If the premises need a change of use, we handle that procedure with the comune, rather than leaving the client holding a refusal after the contract is already signed.

When a conflict arises — the landlord refuses to renew without paying the indennità, denies the right of first refusal on a sale, or the comune refuses a change-of-use permit — we represent the client's interests in negotiations and, where necessary, in appealing the decision. This is exactly the point where an entrepreneur working alone, relying on a translated contract or advice from acquaintances, most often loses: the law on non-residential leases has clear protective mechanisms for the tenant, but they only help if you know they exist and how to apply them at the right time.

We also help align the commercial premises with the rest of the client's business process — registering the activity, obtaining the necessary licences, ongoing bookkeeping — so the premises, the contract and the company move as one, not as three separate processes where responsibility for the outcome gets lost. Read more about full business support in Italy on our business services for foreign entrepreneurs page, and about the first step of opening a company in our article on starting a business in Italy.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rent premises for a shop if the land registry lists them as an office?

Formally, no, until the categoria catastale and the destinazione d'uso are brought into line with the planned activity. It can be done, but it requires a separate change-of-use procedure with the comune, and it's better to check this before, not after, signing the lease.

Who is entitled to the indennità per la perdita dell'avviamento?

The right to this compensation depends on the type of activity and the reason the contract ends: it doesn't apply in every case of termination, and the specific conditions depend on the type of lease and the grounds. It's worth clarifying this in advance, not at the moment the landlord has already announced a refusal to renew.

Can a foreign company buy commercial premises without residency in Italy?

Yes, the law doesn't require Italian residency for a company registered abroad, or in Italy with foreign founders, to buy property. The difficulty usually isn't the right to buy itself, but obtaining financing and preparing the company's documents for the notary.

What happens if an activity starts without the required permits while the paperwork is still in progress?

This is risky: the authority can suspend the activity, impose sanctions, or require the situation to be fixed retroactively, which is often more costly and takes longer than waiting for the permit procedure to finish. For food outlets this risk is especially high because of health and fire-safety requirements.

Is it worth checking the premises in the mortgage register even for a lease?

Yes. A mortgage or an attachment registered against the premises doesn't automatically make the lease invalid, but it can complicate the tenant's position if the owner has debts a creditor is enforcing against the property. A simple check before signing removes this risk in advance.

Commercial real estate in Italy is governed by two systems of rules — those relating to the premises themselves and those relating to the activity carried out there. Understanding this distinction and checking both layers before signing any contract remains the most reliable way to avoid ending up with premises found, money invested, and a business that can't legally open.

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