Initial agreement between the buyer and seller – Preliminary contract
It can have written but also oral form if there is agreement of the parties.
There is no legal form imposed.
The preliminary contract binds the parties to contract, but it is not necessary to stipulate a sale/transaction
It is possible to foresee that an amount be paid both as as a payment on account or as a confirmatory earnest. The confirmatory earnest will be kept by the recipient in case the payer does not fulfil the contract and will be given back doubled if the recipient does not fulfil the contract.
Cancellation for unfulfilment is possible only if the parties had agreed upon a cancellation clause in the contract. Otherwise cancellation is possible only with agrement of the parties concerned. Otherwise the parties can proceed only for fulfilment of the contract in case of unfulfillment of one of the parties.
It is possible to obtain financing directly from the banks. For the resident population of the Republic it is possible to obtain credit facilities with State intervention on real estate with precise measurements and if the applicant has not already applied for and obtained the above mentioned benefits
The contract of financing is normally stipulated with contextual concession of a voluntary mortgage on a real estate of the debtor’s or of a third party in the mortgage in favour of the financing party and it is drawn up by a Public Notary.The amount of money is paid out either directly to the seller or to the buyer, who pays the seller. Another form of financing is real estate leasing.
Voluntary mortgage in real estate sale. In case of real estate leasing the guarantee is implied in this kind of transaction, which foresees purchase by the financing company and redemption of the contractor after he has paid the residual debt.
By public notary act and registration in the land register.
As long as the debt is not paid the mortgage will be registered and will follow every transfer of the mortgaged property.
It is necessary to have all the land register documents of the real estate, all the personal data of the parties, further compulsory documents to certify compliance with building permit regulations and stating the absence of abuse, energetic efficiency classification of the real estate. If the buyer is not a citizen of San Marino he/she needs specific authorization before an institution called “Council of the Twelves”. Moreover, the notary must carry out a survey
to certify other possible mortgages or charges on the real estate.
to certify other possible mortgages or charges on the real estate.
They are required and collected by the Notary who draws up the act.
It depends on the type of documents: from 1 day for land register certification, to 30 days for the authorization of the Council of the Twelves.
Signature de l’acte
The contract is generally stipulated with a notary act, with following registration in the land register. However, the sale agreement is valid with exchange of consent of the parties in any form.
The form of public notary act is the safest.
The signature of the act certifies agreement of the parties and the settlement of the contract.
There is the resulting obligation for the buyer to pay the price agreed upon and for the seller to grant the property.
Implementation of a certain number of public rights applicable to the sale
Preferential rights (e.g. of the lessee) of private parties in selected cases;
preferential right the Rep. of San Marino enjoys upon certain real property located in its territory and listed in a special registry, for historical/cultural/artistic reasons;
compulsory documents to ends of certifying compliance with respect to building permit regulations, in particular stating the absence of probes for any abuse, beside energetic efficiency classification;
a peculiar authorization for non Sammarinese nationals to acquire property in any real estate, before an institution called “Council of the Twelves” (Consiglio dei XII). Any purchase or other acquisition of rights concerning real estate located in San Marino is legally void if enacted in favour of anyone but for Sammarinese nationals, not counting companies or other entities, even if they are based in San Marino. Only individuals enjoying Sammarinese nationality can buy freely real estate in the country, while aliens and companies/entities of every sort and jurisdiction are bound to obtain such authorization. This peculiar body has been issuing regulations on a continuing basis, actually its stance provides e.g. for a fast-track review of requests filed by non-Sammarinese individual having their residency in the country..
a special authorization by the Court in case a property sale is pursued by a company in a voluntary dissolution and liquidation procedure;
other special/general authorizations not specifically related to real property (e.g. in cases a person under the age of 18 years is involved).
preferential right the Rep. of San Marino enjoys upon certain real property located in its territory and listed in a special registry, for historical/cultural/artistic reasons;
compulsory documents to ends of certifying compliance with respect to building permit regulations, in particular stating the absence of probes for any abuse, beside energetic efficiency classification;
a peculiar authorization for non Sammarinese nationals to acquire property in any real estate, before an institution called “Council of the Twelves” (Consiglio dei XII). Any purchase or other acquisition of rights concerning real estate located in San Marino is legally void if enacted in favour of anyone but for Sammarinese nationals, not counting companies or other entities, even if they are based in San Marino. Only individuals enjoying Sammarinese nationality can buy freely real estate in the country, while aliens and companies/entities of every sort and jurisdiction are bound to obtain such authorization. This peculiar body has been issuing regulations on a continuing basis, actually its stance provides e.g. for a fast-track review of requests filed by non-Sammarinese individual having their residency in the country..
a special authorization by the Court in case a property sale is pursued by a company in a voluntary dissolution and liquidation procedure;
other special/general authorizations not specifically related to real property (e.g. in cases a person under the age of 18 years is involved).
There is no specific rule about who should fulfil formalities, however a search report throughout public real estate registries to assess the legal situation of a given property is requested mostly by banking and financial institutions from notaries: in such case, notaries may carry out such search/report and bear the responsibility whereof.
Regarding other formalities there is no specific rule or prescription a notary should fulfil them, i.e. parties can deliver the notary relevant certificates in original. A notary is in any case bound to his/her general professional liability, moreover it should be underscored that in any case a deed would not be accepted for registration within Public Real Estate Registry in lack of documents indicated sub letters “c” and “d” above.
Regarding other formalities there is no specific rule or prescription a notary should fulfil them, i.e. parties can deliver the notary relevant certificates in original. A notary is in any case bound to his/her general professional liability, moreover it should be underscored that in any case a deed would not be accepted for registration within Public Real Estate Registry in lack of documents indicated sub letters “c” and “d” above.
Sammarinese law is based on ius commune, in force whereof the rule of delivery applies in case of property ownership transfer. Registration in public property registries does not prevail over the fact real property has been delivered to the new owner. It is affirmed by Sammarinese civil law authors that an ownership transfer could occur even with a simple handshake, amounting to a valid ownership transfer any time the agreed real property is delivered – not necessarily on a purely material basis, i.e. such effect could be reached by any factual or juridical activity causing the chosen property’s possession into the buyer person (e.g. when an owner sells her property but continues to occupy property upon the different title of lessee).
Such rules must nevertheless be read along other rules on the Public Real Estate Registry, pursuant to which a record cannot be entered on the same property, meaning it would not be accepted where a prior one, even on the basis of subsequent deed, states the same transferor has already effected the same transfer.
However, as above said, substantive transfer of the ownership right is not complemented anytime delivery does not occur, thus, e.g. a civil judgement could invalidate any existing record figuring out in the Public Real Estate Registry.
Such rules must nevertheless be read along other rules on the Public Real Estate Registry, pursuant to which a record cannot be entered on the same property, meaning it would not be accepted where a prior one, even on the basis of subsequent deed, states the same transferor has already effected the same transfer.
However, as above said, substantive transfer of the ownership right is not complemented anytime delivery does not occur, thus, e.g. a civil judgement could invalidate any existing record figuring out in the Public Real Estate Registry.
There are no specific rules about such aspects, price payment can be effected before or even after the deed’s stipulation, registration and ownership transfer, based on agreed terms.
Our law provides for an automatic guarantee in the form of a lien the seller enjoys over property of matter when the price is agreed to be paid wholly or partially following the transfer. Such guarantee may be waived by the seller.
Our law provides for an automatic guarantee in the form of a lien the seller enjoys over property of matter when the price is agreed to be paid wholly or partially following the transfer. Such guarantee may be waived by the seller.
There are no specific regulations over payment methods, but for anti-money laundering and banking ones. Of particular interest is a rule no payment among parties can be made by way of brink cash and other non traceable instruments for amounts higher than EUR*15.000,00. A notary is bound to check how the payment is made in the process of
his/her AML/KYC duties.
his/her AML/KYC duties.
A mortgage can be cancelled from a given property on the basis of a consent provided by guaranteed creditor.
When encumbered property is bought, the buyer can choose to extinguish the mortgage, in which case a risk is represented by the circumstance the seller receives all the funds to be redeployed in paying down mortgage related debt.
Such risks can be mitigated by the simultaneous execution of the whole transaction inside a bank’s offices or in presence of a duly authorized bank agent, in order to assure correct redeployment of funds and, furthermore, obtain the mortgage’s cancellation consent statement (that can be provided in the very act containing the deed).
Another solution may involve a payment of the price portion related to the debt – necessary to gain the cancellation consent – directly into creditor’s hands, by way of a delegation by the seller to the buyer in order for the latter to pay down the earlier’s debt; similarly, property could be transferred encumbered, i.e. without cancelling the mortgage if parties and guaranteed creditor agree to pass the debt to the buyer’s, while freeing up the seller, in which case part of the price payment is intended to occur in front of such freeing acknowledgment.
When encumbered property is bought, the buyer can choose to extinguish the mortgage, in which case a risk is represented by the circumstance the seller receives all the funds to be redeployed in paying down mortgage related debt.
Such risks can be mitigated by the simultaneous execution of the whole transaction inside a bank’s offices or in presence of a duly authorized bank agent, in order to assure correct redeployment of funds and, furthermore, obtain the mortgage’s cancellation consent statement (that can be provided in the very act containing the deed).
Another solution may involve a payment of the price portion related to the debt – necessary to gain the cancellation consent – directly into creditor’s hands, by way of a delegation by the seller to the buyer in order for the latter to pay down the earlier’s debt; similarly, property could be transferred encumbered, i.e. without cancelling the mortgage if parties and guaranteed creditor agree to pass the debt to the buyer’s, while freeing up the seller, in which case part of the price payment is intended to occur in front of such freeing acknowledgment.
Usually stamp, deposit and registration taxes apply to a real property sale. In ordinary cases a real property sale is subject to the following taxes:
stamp: €10,00 every pages of the deed, and other minor fixed items;
deposit within “Ufficio del Registro”: proportional item of 5%* of the sale price, and other minor fixed items;
registration/publication within the name Public Real Properties Registry (“Conservatoria”): proportional item of 1% of the sale price;
transfer of registration within the Office of tax inventory and assessment of real property(land registry “Catasto”): 0,4% of the sale price, plus a €50,00 fixed items for any transfer;
* at the time of this report a general 50% reduction, by way of a stimulus, applies to this item, thus the rate is now at 2,5%..
A number of exceptions applies to these items, most frequent an exemption for first-house purchases by individuals, provided that a number of requirement be met, e.g. the item is not larger than a given square meters limit.
It should be noted that earning taxes may apply to a real property sale transaction in certain cases wherein a capital gain has been realized: such capital gain is a reportable income in the annual income statement.
Rates are not available on an official website but for the general legislation website,
http://www.consigliograndeegenerale.sm/on-line/home/archivio-leggi-decreti-e-regolamenti.html
which does not feature official versions of acts and other legislative texts.
An official legislation website is found at the following URL:
however it shows items dating back to year 2012.
stamp: €10,00 every pages of the deed, and other minor fixed items;
deposit within “Ufficio del Registro”: proportional item of 5%* of the sale price, and other minor fixed items;
registration/publication within the name Public Real Properties Registry (“Conservatoria”): proportional item of 1% of the sale price;
transfer of registration within the Office of tax inventory and assessment of real property(land registry “Catasto”): 0,4% of the sale price, plus a €50,00 fixed items for any transfer;
* at the time of this report a general 50% reduction, by way of a stimulus, applies to this item, thus the rate is now at 2,5%..
A number of exceptions applies to these items, most frequent an exemption for first-house purchases by individuals, provided that a number of requirement be met, e.g. the item is not larger than a given square meters limit.
It should be noted that earning taxes may apply to a real property sale transaction in certain cases wherein a capital gain has been realized: such capital gain is a reportable income in the annual income statement.
Rates are not available on an official website but for the general legislation website,
http://www.consigliograndeegenerale.sm/on-line/home/archivio-leggi-decreti-e-regolamenti.html
which does not feature official versions of acts and other legislative texts.
An official legislation website is found at the following URL:
however it shows items dating back to year 2012.
The office for contracts and deeds deposit “Ufficio del Registro e Conservatoria”, holder of the name Public Real Properties Registry, collecting as well payment of transfer taxes whereof point 3 above mentioned, undertakes tax calculation and recollection.
As already pointed out, Ufficio del Registro e Conservatoria collects due payments.
Sales deeds must be delivered for deposit, and taxes whereof paid, in a 30 days term dating from their signature, while registration and transfer are not subject to any term.
Once a given deed’s taxes have been determined, deposit-registration-transfer docket numbers can be recorded on the deed and copies whereof, provided that payment has duly occurred.
Payments are usually made with checks or bank drafts at the cash desk.
Sales deeds must be delivered for deposit, and taxes whereof paid, in a 30 days term dating from their signature, while registration and transfer are not subject to any term.
Once a given deed’s taxes have been determined, deposit-registration-transfer docket numbers can be recorded on the deed and copies whereof, provided that payment has duly occurred.
Payments are usually made with checks or bank drafts at the cash desk.
It is up to parties to agree on such issue, it is not rare to see arrangement between buyer and seller wherein the second accepts to hand over the keys before receiving full price payment. There is no rule preventing such arrangements.
As above mentioned, there are two different Registries for real property, one is a name one and provides a picture of individual and entities holding rights (and also being encumbered) upon real property items, the other is a land registry, and it’s made of real property items which are then associated to individual and entities.
Procedures to obtain the execution of formalities in part have been already described in answer to questions IX, but it should be added that, while registration within Conservatoria (name Registry) is immediate, transfer of registration within land registry takes several weeks to months, depending on activity volumes the office sustains in a given period.
Procedures to obtain the execution of formalities in part have been already described in answer to questions IX, but it should be added that, while registration within Conservatoria (name Registry) is immediate, transfer of registration within land registry takes several weeks to months, depending on activity volumes the office sustains in a given period.
The offices execute respective registrations upon submission by notaries of required documents, i.e. the deed in original (which is returned once the procedure is completed) and certified copies along registration requests summarizing the deed’s contents. Some documents can be provided along the deed at the stage of formalities filings, e.g. certificate stating the absence of probes for any abuse.
The actual situation, on one hand, provides an early review by state authorities, which helps avoiding subsequent assessment and possibly unexpected changes to tax amounts – changes which, by the way, are not excluded by that initial determination – on the other hand, it triggers the application of evaluation criteria in a unilateral fashion, since a notary would not be granted the formality if he/she does not comply with the office’s view and pays required amount.