Rent to Buy agreement must be filed by an Italian Notary; Filing effects last for 10 years which indeed represents the duration of the Long Rent to Buy scheme.

Filing (Trascrizione) represents the juridical instrument used to protect the buyer’s interest; It consists of an annotation in the Land Registry (Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari) done by the Notary.

It gives “public faith” to the deed securing it from any third action (creditor attack, third buyers, bankruptcy, heirs, etc.).

Furthermore it guarantees the property will really be transferred at the end of the Rent to Buy in the favor of the Buyer, including protection against cases like bankruptcy or Seller’s death;  in these two cases also the Seller’s heirs or the bankruptcy manager are obliged to transfer the property by law.

On the other hand Filing has not to be confused with the Registration of the Deed, which instead is just an obligatory fiscal fulfillment; it has to be done necessary in the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) registering a copy of the deed and paying the related taxes.

The Registration itself doesn’t produce any legal protection for the Buyer.