Italy offers a deep rental market and you can rent all types of properties, from one-room apartment to a castle. If you are looking for accommodation for less than a year is best to choose a equipped apartment or a house. Most rental properties are not equipped especially for short stays, and those equipped are hard to find, but in these case you could buy everything by tenant.
There are infinite ways to find a rental property:
- Ask to friends, in fact many rental properties are found through word-of-mouth, especially in big cities;
- Look for properties with a sign “rent” or “for rent” generally placed nearest the house;
- Through the real estate agencies. It is often better to deal with an agent to speak about contracts and other legal issues;
- Check the advertisements in newspapers and local magazines or on bulletin boards in shopping centers, supermarkets, universities and expatriate organizations;
- Check the advertisements on Internet;
- You can directly insert an advertisement, “Wanted to rent apartments” in many newspapers and on bulletin boards, but this method is not very effective.
The rental prices depending on the size (number of bedrooms) and the quality of the house, also the years of construction and the utilities provided. However, the most important factor about rental depends by regions, cities and special district. In general, a monthly rent can go from 300€ (one-room) to 2.000€ (3 bedrooms). The rent must not be paid in advance, but generally monthly, often the landlord can ask for a deposit equal to three months of rental. The deposit must be returned with interest within two months after the end of the lease, unless damage caused on the entire property.
In addition to the rental, the tenants must have insurance and pay the bills and taxes. There will be a regulation to follow, which the tenants have the right to own a copy. The service costs usually include such things as heating, hot water, garbage service, maintenance of soil and gardens, the use of the lift, communal lighting and its maintenance, and generally the concierge service . Other utilities like gas, electricity and water are usually paid separately by the tenants.
It should be remembered that if you rent a property through an estate agent, generally you will need for the service about 10% of the yearly or monthly rent.
