Getting a Mortgage in Italy as a Non-Resident: What Banks Ask For and What It Really Costs

By Patrick · 2026-10-22

Yes, a non-resident can get a mortgage in Italy. Expect the bank to lend at most 80% of its own valuation, often less to someone who lives abroad, to ask for an Italian tax code, proof of income and the property's papers, and to withhold a 2% tax from a second-home loan. The rate you are offered will differ from the published average.

Italian banks lend to buyers who live abroad, but there is no standard non-resident mortgage: each bank sets its own conditions. This guide explains what is fixed by law and what you have to ask about. For how the recent rate rises came about, see our article on the ECB's September 2026 hike.

What the average rate tells you, and what it does not

The European Central Bank publishes the average rate on new house-purchase loans in Italy every month. In August 2026, the latest month available, it was:

• 3.60% for loans with the rate fixed for more than ten years
• 3.37% for floating rates, or rates fixed for up to one year

Both figures are provisional (ECB data, fixed; floating). The floating average rose from 2.99% in July to 3.37% in August; the ECB's September rise came after these figures.

Read them as a benchmark. They are an average over every borrower, not broken down by residency or loan size, and nobody publishes what non-residents pay. They are also agreed interest rates, comparable to the TAN (the nominal rate). The figure that tells you what a loan really costs is the TAEG, which adds fees, taxes, the valuation and any insurance the bank requires.

How much an Italian bank will lend

According to the Bank of Italy's mortgage guide, the loan generally cannot exceed 80% of the property's value as set by the bank's independent valuer. A bank can lend more, but then it asks for more security, such as a personal guarantee (fideiussione), and the terms are often less favourable.

Two points follow. The 80% is of the bank's valuation, not of the price: if the valuer comes in below the agreed price, the loan shrinks and you need more cash. And many lenders offer non-residents less than the ceiling. There is no official figure for that, so ask each lender what it would offer you, early.

Italy has no legal cap on how much of your income the instalment may take. The Bank of Italy's own rule of thumb for borrowers is an instalment of no more than about a third of your disposable income.

What the bank will ask for

Each bank has its own list, set out in its information sheet (foglio informativo). In general the Bank of Italy names three groups of documents:

• About you: identity and personal details, including any marital property agreements. You will also need an Italian tax code, the codice fiscale, which you can request from the Agenzia delle Entrate or an Italian consulate abroad.
• About your income: for employees, an employer's statement, recent payslips and the tax return; for the self-employed, recent tax returns and proof of business registration. A buyer who lives abroad provides the equivalent documents from home, so ask the bank exactly what it accepts and whether it needs them translated.
• About the property: the preliminary contract (compromesso), the floor plan, the certificate of habitability and the last deed of sale or inheritance.

The bank then has the property valued (the perizia), by an expert who must be independent of the people selling you the loan. You may be charged for it.

Your rights before you sign

Italian law transposed the EU Mortgage Credit Directive into the Banking Act (TUB). These rights apply to you whether or not you live in Italy:

• A standard information sheet. Before you are bound, the bank must give you the PIES (Prospetto Informativo Europeo Standardizzato, the European Standardised Information Sheet), free of charge, with the rate, the TAEG and every cost (art. 120-novies TUB).
• Seven days to think. Once you receive the binding offer, you have at least seven days to compare it. The offer binds the bank during that time.
• No penalty for repaying early. For a loan to an individual to buy a home, any early-repayment penalty is void by law (art. 120-ter TUB). This covers a holiday home too.
• Free switching. You can move the loan to another bank at any time without fees or the old bank's consent (surroga, art. 120-quater TUB).
• You choose the notary. The notaio who signs the mortgage deed is your choice, not the bank's.

The costs on top of interest

The loan tax. On a loan of more than 18 months, a single imposta sostitutiva replaces the other taxes on the loan. It is 2% of the loan amount, or 0.25% when the purchase qualifies for the prima casa (first home) benefits (art. 18 DPR 601/1973). The bank withholds it, so on a €200,000 loan for a second home you receive €196,000. What decides the rate is the prima casa conditions, not your nationality: a buyer who moves their residence to the comune within 18 months, for example, can qualify.

Insurance. Banks require cover against fire and explosion on the mortgaged building for the life of the loan; you can usually buy it from any insurer. Life or credit protection insurance is not compulsory. If a bank makes its own policy a condition, it must accept an equivalent one you find yourself.

Fees. Expect an arrangement fee (istruttoria), the valuation fee, the notary's fee for the mortgage deed and the registration of the mortgage, and sometimes a fee per instalment. They vary by bank and appear in the PIES.

No tax relief on a second home. The Italian deduction for mortgage interest is 19% of up to €4,000 of interest a year, at most €760, and only for a home that becomes your main residence. A holiday home does not qualify.

For the taxes and fees on the purchase itself, see our guide to the real cost of buying a house in Italy.

If you earn in pounds, dollars or francs

A euro mortgage does not remove currency risk if your income is in another currency; it moves it to you. Italian law recognises this. A loan counts as a foreign-currency loan when, at signing, most of your income is in another currency, and you then have the right to convert it into that currency if the exchange rate has moved by 20% or more, according to the Bank of Italy (art. 120-quaterdecies TUB). That right is a backstop, not a hedge. Budget for the instalment at a weaker exchange rate than today's.

Timing, brokers and the mortgage clause

Allow time. The Italian notaries' guide says that, as a rule, 60 days from application to signing can be more than enough, and that the money may reach the seller two or three weeks after the deed. Every bank must state its maximum times in its information sheet; hold it to them.

Brokers. A credit broker (mediatore creditizio) must be registered with the OAM, the official register, which you can check at organismo-am.it. Before working for you, a broker must tell you its fee and the commissions lenders pay it (art. 120-decies TUB). The Bank of Italy warns that broker fees can be high, so ask first.

Protect your deposit. If you need a loan to complete, make the offer conditional on getting it: a clause (condizione sospensiva) with a realistic deadline for the bank's decision and a full refund of the deposit if the loan is refused. Without it, a refused loan does not release you from the contract. Because an accepted written offer (proposta) can already bind you, put the clause in the proposta, not only in the compromesso. Our buying timeline shows where each step falls.

Where Trovara fits

The Trovara Individual Property Report (€109) shows, for the house you are considering, what different loan sizes would cost per month at the latest Italian average rates from ECB data, with the month of the data, next to the purchase taxes and the all-in budget. It also gives you a valuation to compare with the bank's. You can see the format in our sample report. Use it to prepare the conversation with the bank, not instead of the bank's offer.

Prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by the Trovara team. This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Rates are the ECB's provisional averages for August 2026; laws checked in October 2026 on normattiva.it and in the Bank of Italy's mortgage guide (February 2026). Every bank sets its own terms. Always compare offers through the PIES and verify with a notaio, a registered broker or an adviser before you sign.