Finding somewhere to live in Milan

How the market works

Immobiliare.it and Idealista carry most listings, alongside a dense network of small local agencies who hold stock that never reaches a portal. September is the worst month to arrive because the Politecnico, Bocconi and Statale intakes clear the affordable end of the market in a fortnight. Advertised rents almost always exclude the spese condominiali, which cover heating, the porter, the lift and cleaning, and in older central blocks those charges are substantial.

• Agency commission on a rental is typically around one month's rent, or 10 per cent of the annual rent, plus VAT — paid by the tenant and entirely legal here.
• Ask for the annual spese condominiali figure in writing, not an estimate.
• Riscaldamento centralizzato means the building controls the heating and bills it through the condominio; autonomo means you control it and pay directly.
• Arredato, semi-arredato and non arredato are genuinely different products; unfurnished in Italy can mean no kitchen at all.

Contract types, and which one you are being offered

The two mainstream residential forms are the 4+4, a free-market contract running four years and renewing for four more, and the 3+2 a canone concordato, a rent-controlled form tied to local agreements that carries tax advantages for the landlord and often a lower rent for you. There is also the contratto transitorio, capped at eighteen months and only lawful where a genuine temporary need exists, and student contracts for those enrolled at a university. Which one you sign determines your notice rights and how easily the landlord can end it.

• 4+4: free market rent, four years plus automatic four-year renewal.
• 3+2 canone concordato: rent set within a negotiated band, three years plus two.
• Transitorio: up to eighteen months, requires a documented temporary reason.
• Tenants can normally withdraw with six months' written notice by raccomandata; check the clause.

Registration, the deposit and the guarantee

The contract must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within thirty days of signing, and the registration tax is normally split between landlord and tenant unless the landlord has opted for the cedolare secca flat-tax regime, in which case they bear it. The deposito cauzionale is customarily up to three months' rent and legally should earn interest for you. Landlords frequently ask foreigners without an Italian income for a fideiussione bancaria — a bank guarantee — or for several months up front instead.

• Ask for the registration receipt from the Agenzia delle Entrate; it is your evidence.
• Deposito cauzionale: customarily two to three months, capped by law at three.
• Codice fiscale is required before the contract can be registered in your name.
• Cedolare secca means the landlord cannot raise the rent by ISTAT indexation during the term.

What the flat will be like

Milan is humid and foggy in winter and heavy in summer, and older buildings hold both. Centralised heating in a condominio is switched on and off on dates fixed by regulation rather than by the weather, so October can be cold indoors regardless. Air conditioning is not standard, ground and first-floor flats in the ring districts can be dark, and a cortile-facing flat is quieter but dimmer than a street-facing one.

• Ask which floor, whether there is a lift, and whether the building has a portiere.
• Check the classe energetica on the APE certificate — it predicts the winter bill.
• Confirm whether air conditioning exists and whether the condominio permits installing it.

In order

1. 1Get the codice fiscale first — from an Italian consulate abroad if possible.
2. 2Open an Italian bank account so rent and utilities can be paid by domiciliazione.
3. 3View in person; ask for the annual condominio charge and the APE certificate.
4. 4Establish which contract type you are being offered and for how long.
5. 5Sign, pay the deposit by traceable bank transfer, never in cash.
6. 6Confirm the landlord registers the contract with the Agenzia delle Entrate and get the receipt.
7. 7Declare residenza at the Comune with the registered contract.
8. 8Transfer electricity and gas into your name via voltura.