With the amendment of Law 147/2013 that took place in the year 2017, Italian legislation, in line with European best practices, introduced a new regulation aimed at maximising the protection of purchasers of real estate by providing the option of depositing the sale price in a special account of the notary who stipulates the sale.
The purpose of the new legislation is to bind the price and deposit it safely until the real estate transaction is completed.
In the days immediately following the stipulation, the notary performs all the annotations required by law in the public registers (registration, transcription and transfer) and only after the completion of these formalities can the purchase be said to be definitively secure. In fact, if in the short time between the sale and its transcription at the land registry a creditor were to attack the property by transcribing a foreclosure or registering a mortgage, the position of the purchaser who had already paid the sale price would be jeopardised.
To avoid such an eventuality, the notary may withhold the sale price and release it for the benefit of the seller, in accordance with the instructions set out in detail in the real estate transaction, only after the transcription of the deed has been executed and it is certain that the property is free from encumbrances and liens.
Should problems arise, the notary may use the deposited price to settle sums owed to creditors or, in extreme cases, return it to the purchaser after the sale is dissolved.
The dedicated notary’s account, by virtue of the aforementioned Law 147/2013, is seizable, unseizable and in the event of the notary’s death does not fall under his succession. It remains separate and in a condition of absolute security because it is legally intended for the protection of the purchaser.
