Offer, preliminary contract and deed in Trieste: what you sign

In Trieste you are committed long before the notary: your offer to buy (proposta d'acquisto) becomes a binding contract as soon as you learn that the seller has accepted it (Civil Code, art. 1326), and if the form is silent, local custom expects 10% of the price as a deposit (caparra) at that very moment (Trieste collection of trade usages, Raccolta degli usi, art. 54). The home becomes yours only when it is entered in the land register (Libro fondiario): in 2026, half of the land register decrees we counted came out more than 15 months after the application.

At a glance

• The offer binds you once the acceptance reaches you; until then you can withdraw it, unless it is irrevocable (Civil Code, arts. 1328 and 1329).
• The customary deposit is 10%, confirmatory unless the word "penitential" is written: on €220,000, that is €22,000.
• Whoever backs out pays: the party who gave the deposit loses it, the party who received it pays back double (art. 1385).
• The preliminary contract (compromesso) is registered within 30 days: €200 plus 0.5% of deposit and advance payments, and the 0.5% is credited at the deed.
• In the land register the preliminary contract is noted, and ownership passes with registration of title (intavolazione) (Royal Decree 499/1929, art. 2): your rank counts from the moment of the application.

The offer to buy: when it binds you

The offer is your written bid. It becomes a contract when you learn that the seller has accepted it; the reply counts as known once it reaches your address (arts. 1326 and 1335). If the seller changes a single condition, that is a new offer.

Before then you can revoke it (art. 1328). If, however, you signed it as irrevocable until a given date, revoking it has no effect (art. 1329), while the seller remains free to hear other offers. The National Council of Notaries (Consiglio nazionale del notariato) advises keeping that period short.

Once accepted, it works as a preliminary contract on the terms of the form. So write it as if it already were the compromesso:

• the property, with its cadastral data and land register entry (partita tavolare);
• the deposit: how much, which kind, how you pay it, and that it comes back to you if the seller does not accept in time;
• the mortgage: "subject to a mortgage of €X being granted by date Y". If the bank says no, the contract has no effect (art. 1353); if you never apply, you risk the condition being treated as met (art. 1359). For the agency's side, see the guide to agency fees;
• the dates for the compromesso, the deed and handover;
• condominium charges already approved, and the energy certificate (APE), which the seller must make available from the start of negotiations (Legislative Decree 192/2005, art. 6).

Confirmatory deposit, penitential deposit, advance payment

Trieste's custom is written down: with the offer, 10% of the price is paid as a deposit, confirmatory unless it is called penitential (Raccolta degli usi, art. 54). It applies when the form is silent (art. 1340), and the notaries in fact advise a minimal deposit until the offer is accepted.

Sum	If the payer backs out	If the recipient backs out	Tax on registration
Confirmatory deposit (caparra confirmatoria)	loses it	pays back double	0.5%
Penitential deposit (caparra penitenziale, art. 1386)	loses it, and that is all	pays back double, and that is all	3%
Advance payment (acconto)	gets it back; damages must be proven	returns it; damages must be proven	0.5%

With a confirmatory deposit, the party let down can instead ask a court to enforce the contract, or to terminate it with damages (art. 1385, para. 3). An advance payment is returned if the contract is dissolved (art. 1458).

The compromesso: form, registration, cost

The preliminary contract, or compromesso, obliges both sides to complete the deed. It must be in writing, or it is void (arts. 1350 and 1351), but a private agreement is enough; a notary is needed to note it in the land register, and is compulsory when a builder sells a home still to be built to a private individual, under a building permit applied for from 16 March 2019.

It must be registered with the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) within 30 days (Presidential Decree 131/1986, art. 13; until 21 June 2022 the limit was 20 days), even when it is an accepted offer. If an agency is involved, it is also bound to register it and is jointly liable for the tax (arts. 10 and 57). It can be done online, with the RAP form. The taxes:

• €200 fixed registration tax;
• 0.5% on a confirmatory deposit and on advance payments, or the lower tax due on the final deed; on advance payments it was 3% until 2024 (Legislative Decree 139/2024);
• 3% on a penitential deposit;
• €16 stamp duty per 4 pages, or per 100 lines.

The 0.5% is deducted from the registration tax on the deed (Tariff, art. 10, note); the €200 and the stamp duty are not. From 1 January 2027 the same rules move into the new consolidated act on registration tax (Legislative Decree 123/2025).

In Trieste the preliminary contract is noted, not transcribed

Elsewhere in Italy a preliminary contract made before a notary is recorded in the property registers under art. 2645-bis: later mortgages, attachments and sales to third parties cannot touch the buyer, and the buyer's claims enjoy a preferential right over the property (art. 2775-bis).

In the land register the same effect comes from a note (annotazione) (Royal Decree 499/1929, art. 12; Land Register Act, art. 20, letter h), not from a provisional entry (prenotazione), which here is a conditional acquisition of the right (art. 8).

It takes a notarial act: an offer signed at the agency is not enough. The effects lapse if the final deed does not reach the land register within one year of the date set for the deed, and at the latest three years after the note (art. 2645-bis, para. 3). It is worth it when the deed is far off, when you pay a lot in advance or when the seller is a company.

The deed (rogito): what the notary checks

The notary checks the land register for who owns the property and what burdens it: in Trieste, the "property registers" the laws refer to are the land register (Royal Decree 499/1929, art. 12). The notary takes the seller's statement that cadastral data and floor plan match the actual state (Law 52/1985, art. 29), and the building permit details for construction begun after 17 March 1985 (Presidential Decree 380/2001, art. 46): without them, the deed is void. The papers are listed in the documents for selling a home.

Placing the price in escrow with the notary happens if at least one party asks for it: the notary keeps the balance in a dedicated account that creditors cannot seize, and pays it to the seller after registration and public recording, provided no new encumbrances have appeared (paras. 63–66 of art. 1, Law 147/2013). In Trieste the law does not say whether the land register application is enough for public recording or the decree is needed; in South Tyrol the consumer centre points to registration of title. Ask the notary beforehand when the money will be released.

When you become the owner, in Trieste

Under the land register system, ownership is acquired only by entry in the Libro fondiario (Royal Decree 499/1929, art. 2). After the deed the notary files the application, and is liable for damages for any unjustified delay (art. 11). The land register judge, or the registrar acting under delegation, decides by decree; for notarial deeds, notice is given in the Region's Official Bulletin (Regional Law 12/2009, art. 14).

We counted the Trieste land registry decrees in the Bulletin lists of 1 and 15 April, 23 September, 7 and 21 October 2026: 1,227. For half of them, the application had been filed more than 15 months earlier; only 7% within six months, 72% after more than a year.

The wait does not expose you to whoever comes later: rank is fixed by the number of the application (Land Register Act, art. 29), and if a property is sold twice, ownership goes to whoever first applied for entry (Royal Decree 499/1929, art. 6). The decree granting your application keeps its rank.

Worked example: a €220,000 home

Example. First-home purchase (prima casa), private seller. Assumptions: cadastral income (rendita catastale) of €1,000; confirmatory deposit of 10% with the offer; advance payment of €22,000 at the compromesso, which taxes only the advance; balance at the deed.

Stage	To the seller	Taxes
Accepted offer	€22,000 deposit	€200 + 0.5% of €22,000 = €310
Compromesso	€22,000 advance	€200 + 0.5% of €22,000 = €310
Deed	€176,000 balance	registration 2% of €115,500 = €2,310, less €220: €2,090; mortgage and cadastral taxes €100

Under the price-value rule (prezzo-valore), registration tax is worked out on the cadastral value: €1,000 × 1.05 × 110 = €115,500. Total taxes €2,810, plus stamp duty; without the two preliminary contracts, €2,410. The intermediate steps cost the fixed €400, because the 0.5% comes back at the deed. The rest is in the taxes when you buy.

If it falls through:

• you back out: the seller can withdraw and keep the €22,000 deposit; the advance comes back to you;
• the seller backs out: you can withdraw and claim double the deposit, €44,000, plus the advance: €66,000. Or ask for a judgment that stands in for the deed (art. 2932), offering the balance; the claim is noted in the land register (Land Register Act, art. 20, letter g);
• the bank refuses the mortgage within the deadline: the contract has no effect, and deposit and advance come back to you.

Offer, compromesso, deed side by side

	Offer to buy	Preliminary contract (compromesso)	Deed (rogito)
What you sign	your offer	the mutual obligation to complete the deed	the sale
What you pay	the deposit, customarily 10%	an advance; €200 + 0.5% registration tax	balance, taxes, notary
If you back out	before acceptance nothing, unless irrevocable; after, you lose the deposit	you lose the deposit; or the other side seeks a judgment	the sale is done
Land register	nothing	a note, with a notary	registration of title

Frequently asked questions

Is an offer to buy a home in Trieste binding?

For you, yes, if it is irrevocable, until the date written in it. For both sides, once the seller's acceptance reaches you (art. 1326).

How much deposit do you pay when buying a home in Trieste?

Whatever you agree in writing. If the form is silent, Trieste custom is 10% of the price with the offer, as a confirmatory deposit (Raccolta degli usi, art. 54).

How much does it cost to register a preliminary contract?

€200 plus 0.5% of deposit and advance payments, plus stamp duty, within 30 days. With a €22,000 deposit that is €310; the €110 comes back at the deed.

What happens if the seller pulls out after the preliminary contract?

You can withdraw and claim double the deposit, or seek a judgment that transfers the home to you (art. 2932), offering the balance.

When do you become the owner of a home in Trieste?

With registration of title in the Libro fondiario, not with the deed. The decree may take more than a year, but it keeps the rank of the notary's application.

What to do now

• Read the offer as if it were the compromesso: deposit, mortgage, dates, irrevocability.
• Ask for the land register extract (estratto tavolare): who is registered as owner, mortgages, easements.
• Pay by non-transferable cheque or bank transfer; keep the accepted offer and the date it reached you.
• Within 30 days, ask for the registration receipt.
• After the deed, ask the notary for the number of the land register application (GN), so you can find the decree in the Official Bulletin. With a mortgage, work out the figures before the offer.

What this guide doesn't tell you

The clauses you sign override custom. A dispute is for a lawyer; the taxes, especially when a company sells, for the notary. The tariff does not say how a deposit already registered with the offer and repeated in the compromesso is taxed. The land register times are measured on five lists from 2026.

If you sell with us. We read the papers before your home goes online, land register included: if something is wrong you find out at once, not at the deed, and what goes into the offer has already been checked. Then we see you through to the notary, even if you live far away. Tell us about your home.

A guide to inform, not legal or tax advice: notary, lawyer and accountant (commercialista) have the final word. For your own case: info@triesteimmobiliare.com · +39 331 8940822.