Rental costs in Trieste: who pays what, landlord or tenant

In a let home the landlord pays for necessary repairs and major works; the tenant pays for utilities, shared services and minor upkeep caused by use. The tenant settles their share of the charges within 2 months of the request, and before paying has the right to see the accounts. For a caretaker (portiere), the tenant pays 90%, unless a lower share is agreed.

What does the law say, for every lease?

These rules apply to every lease, from a temporary one to a 4+4:

• the landlord hands over the home in a good state of repair and keeps it fit for the agreed use (art. 1575);
• the landlord carries out all necessary repairs, except minor upkeep (art. 1576);
• minor upkeep covers deterioration produced by use, not by age or by accident; where nothing is agreed, local custom defines it (art. 1609);
• the tenant must tell you about repairs that are yours; urgent ones they may carry out themselves, telling you at the same time, and be reimbursed (art. 1577);
• if works last more than a sixth of the lease, and in any case more than 20 days, the tenant is entitled to a rent reduction (art. 1584).

Who pays what: the most common items

Services and works, all from Annex D (Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 62 of 15/03/2017):

• Who paysTenant

  Lift: routine maintenance, small repairs, electricity, inspections and testing

• Who paysLandlord

  Lift: installation, major maintenance, upgrades to new rules

• Who paysTenant

  Heating and hot water: fuel, energy, routine maintenance, annual cleaning, meter reading

• Who paysLandlord

  Heating: installing and replacing the systems, upgrades to laws and regulations

• Who pays90% tenant, 10% landlord

  Caretaker: salary, contributions, severance

• Who paysTenant

  Cleaning: the cleaner's pay or the firm's service, materials

• Who paysLandlord

  Cleaning: hiring the cleaner, awarding the contract, buying the machines

• Who paysTenant

  Lighting and water in shared areas

• Who paysTenant

  Roofs, gutters, drains: routine maintenance

• Who paysLandlord

  Roofs and drains: major maintenance; gutters: replacement

• Who paysTenant

  Entryphone, shared aerial, shared lighting: routine maintenance

• Who paysLandlord

  Entryphone, shared aerial, shared lighting: installation and replacement

• Who paysTenant

  Inside the home: painting, glass, keys and locks, routine maintenance of floors, windows and systems

• Who paysLandlord

  Inside the home: complete replacement of floors and wall tiling, major maintenance of the heating

Utilities and taxes, each with its own rule:

• Water, electricity, heating, air conditioning

  Who pays: Tenant, unless agreed otherwise

  Source: Law 392/1978, art. 9

• Waste tax (TARI)

  Who pays: Tenant; only the owner if occupation lasts no more than 6 months in the calendar year

  Source: Annex D; Trieste TARI regulation, art. 5

• Registration tax

  Who pays: Half each

  Source: Law 392/1978, art. 8

• Stamp duty on the lease and receipts

  Who pays: Tenant in the decree's standard leases; in others, write it into the lease

  Source: Annex A, art. 5, and the other standard leases

• ILIA (imposta locale immobiliare autonoma, the local property tax)

  Who pays: Landlord

  Source: Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Law 17/2022, art. 6

With the cedolare secca flat-rate tax, no registration tax or stamp duty is due on the lease (Legislative Decree 23/2011, art. 3). Without it, landlord and tenant are jointly liable to the Agenzia delle Entrate for the whole amount due for registration.

Two items are missing: the building manager's (amministratore) fee and the building's insurance. For items the table does not cover, the decree refers to the law and local custom (art. 4). Write into the lease who pays them.

Does Annex D apply to my lease?

Yes, in the leases governed by the 2017 decree: the 3+2 regulated rent lease (canone concordato), the temporary lease and the student lease (art. 4). In Trieste the Comune lists two territorial agreements in force, and both apply the table: the 2022 one (title E) and the 2025 agreement (art. 15). For everything else, the 2025 agreement refers to the law, to the local customs collected by the Chamber of Commerce (CCIAA) and to tables agreed among the signatory organisations.

In a free-market 4+4 the decree does not impose it: art. 9 of Law 392/1978, the Civil Code and the terms of the lease apply.

How do you ask the tenant for the charges?

• The deadline: the tenant pays within 2 months of the request (art. 9). In the decree's standard leases, at the year-end statement, within 60 days.
• The accounts: before paying, the tenant is entitled to a specific breakdown of the charges with the criteria for sharing them, and to see the supporting documents; in the standard leases also through a tenants' union.
• The advance: in the standard leases, with the first instalment of the annual rent the tenant pays an advance no higher than their share for the previous year.
• The meeting: on the costs and running of heating and air conditioning, the tenant votes instead of you; on changes to other shared services the tenant may speak, without a vote (art. 10).

What if the tenant does not pay the condominium charges?

You answer to the condominium. Charges are borne by the owners (art. 1123 of the Civil Code), and the building manager, without authorisation from the owners' meeting, can obtain an immediately enforceable payment order against an owner in arrears; if the arrears last six months, the manager can cut that owner off from shared services that can be used separately (art. 63 of the implementing provisions).

So you pay, and ask the tenant for their share. If the charges not paid on time exceed two months' rent, that is grounds for terminating the lease (art. 5 of Law 392/1978).

An example: a year of charges in a building with central heating

Assumptions: a condominium with central heating, a lift and a caretaker; a 3+2 regulated rent lease with Annex D, and an agreed clause leaving the building manager and insurance to the landlord. The amounts are hypothetical.

• Total€900Tenant€900

  Heating: fuel and routine maintenance

• Total€240Tenant€240

  Lift: routine maintenance and electricity

• Total€300Tenant€300

  Cleaning of shared areas

• Total€120Tenant€120

  Lighting and water in shared areas

• Total€400Tenant€360Landlord€40

  Caretaker (90% and 10%)

• Total€600Landlord€600

  Replacing the gutters

• Total€360Landlord€360

  Building manager and insurance

• Total€2,920Tenant€1,920Landlord€1,000

  Total

The sums: 900 + 240 + 300 + 120 + 360 = €1,920 for the tenant; 40 + 600 + 360 = €1,000 for you. The building manager asks you for €2,920. You forward the statement and the breakdown to the tenant: their share is €1,920, payable within 60 days of the request. If with the first instalment they had paid an advance equal to their share for the year before, €1,800, a balance of €120 remains.

At move-out: wear or damage?

The tenant returns the home as they received it, according to the description you made together, except for deterioration from use in line with the lease; they are not liable for age (art. 1590). Without a description, the tenant is presumed to have received it in a good state of repair: a handover report (verbale di consegna) with photos suits you both. The tenant is liable for loss and deterioration, fire included, unless they prove the cause cannot be attributed to them (art. 1588).