Subletting in Trieste: what your tenant may and may not do

Without your consent the tenant cannot sublet the whole home or transfer the lease to someone else (article 2 of law 392/1978). Part of it, yes, if the lease does not forbid it and with a registered letter telling you. But in regulated-rent (canone concordato), transitional and student leases, which in Trieste are signed on the ministerial templates, subletting and free loan (comodato) are forbidden unless agreed otherwise in writing.

Subletting, transfer, free loan: what is the difference?

• Subletting (sublocazione): the tenant remains the tenant and in turn lets all or part of the home to a third party. Their lease with you continues.
• Transfer of the lease: someone else takes the tenant's place. It always needs your consent: law 392/1978 and the Civil Code (article 1594) say so.
• Free loan (comodato): the tenant gives the home, or a room, to someone for free. The ministerial templates forbid it just like subletting.

The subletting rule is in article 2 of law 392/1978, which still applies: for homes, law 431/1998 repealed, among others, articles 1, 3 and 12 to 26.

What the leases signed in Trieste say

In Trieste regulated-rent leases follow the territorial agreements, and the agreement of 15/12/2025, in article 11, wants the 2017 decree's templates used without changes that alter their structure or content.

• LeaseFree-market 4+4

  whole home forbidden without consent; part allowed unless agreed otherwise, with a registered letter

  Where it is written: law 392/1978, art. 2

• Lease3+2 regulated rent

  forbidden, whole or part, unless agreed otherwise in writing

  Where it is written: ministerial template (Annex A), art. 7

• LeaseTransitional

  forbidden, in whole or in part, "on pain of termination by operation of law"

  Where it is written: Annex B, art. 9

• LeaseStudent

  forbidden, in whole or in part, "on pain of termination by operation of law"

  Where it is written: Annex C, art. 8

If you want to allow the tenant to let a room, write it into the lease: who, on what terms, with what notice. If you do not, on a free-market 4+4 write the ban: without it, partial subletting is allowed.

The tenant lets the home on Airbnb: what can you do?

It is subletting, and the tax rules treat it that way: decree-law 50/2017, article 4, paragraph 3, extends the short-let rules to "contratti di sublocazione". So:

• on a free-market 4+4, if they sublet the whole home without your consent, they breach law 392/1978;
• on a 3+2 they breach the template's ban; to ask the court for termination, the breach must not be of minor importance (articles 1453 and 1455 of the Civil Code);
• on transitional and student leases there is an express termination clause: the lease ends by operation of law when you tell them you intend to rely on it (article 1456).

Send the notice by registered letter with return receipt (raccomandata A/R) or certified email (PEC), with the evidence: listings, reviews, dates. Before sending it, talk to a lawyer: the case to get the home back is theirs to run.

The short-let taxes are the tenant's. On short-sublet income the tenant can choose the flat-rate cedolare (decree-law 50/2017, article 4, paragraphs 2 and 3), at 21% for the unit named in the tax return and 26% otherwise; if a platform or agent collects for them, it withholds 21% on account. For the CIN code and the tourist tax, see the guide on short lets in Trieste.

And a room for a friend, or a student?

A long sublet, outside short lets, is "other income" for the tenant (article 67, paragraph 1, letter h of the income tax code, TUIR), without the cedolare: the Revenue Agency says so in circular 26/E of 2011.

The templates forbid subletting and comodato; they say nothing about guests. If the guest is a foreign national, though, whoever gives them lodging must report it in writing within 48 hours to the police authority; failing to do so risks €500 to €3,500 (article 7 of legislative decree 286/1998). We explain it in the guide on letting to foreign tenants.

If the tenant does not pay you, can you ask the subtenant?

In part. You have a direct claim against the subtenant for the sublet rent they still owe your tenant at the time of the court claim, without losing your rights against the tenant (article 1595 of the Civil Code). And if the main lease ends, that also applies to the subtenant.

An example. Stated assumptions: free-market 4+4 at €800 a month; the tenant sublets a room at €400 a month, with the registered letter they sent you; then they stop paying you for 3 months.

1. Your claim: 800 × 3 = €2,400, against the tenant.
2. From the subtenant: you can ask only for what they still owe the tenant when you file the claim: if it is one month, €400.
3. The rest: 2,400 − 400 = €2,000 remains to be claimed from the tenant, under the rules on arrears.

The subtenant cannot hold advance payments against you, except those made according to local custom.