What Is The Role of a Public Notary? 5 Important Things To Know
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The one of the Public Notary is not always a clear topic for international buyers, who usually wrongly believe this figure performs the same function as a lawyer or an attorney.
Spoiler: the Notary is definitely something more: he’s a fundamental player in a property purchase process in Italy. In other words: no sale can be done without a Notary.
Continue reading to discover the 5 things you should know about this important figure!
#1 The highest public figure
Acting on behalf of the Italian State, the Notary is appointed by the Italian Ministry of Justice, and he’s therefore a public officer (although he operates on a self-employed professional basis).
The Italian State gives him the rights of official authority: this means that a document drawn up by a Notary with his seal and signature is a guarantee of legality and authenticity.
#2 More than a lawyer
The lawyer exclusively protects your interest; conversely, a Notary ensures that the law for both parties is respected. A public Notary must maintain neutrality.
#3 A crucial role in property transactions
A Notary is an impartial and independent party with multiple roles in a property transaction.
Basically, the Notary is responsible for receiving all legal documents pertaining to the sale, checking their authenticity and drawing up the Notary Deed.
According to the Cassazione (Cass. Civ. sez. I, 29 novembre 2007 n. 24939 ed anche Cass. Civ. sez. III, 11 gennaio 2006, n, 264), the Notary has not only to stipulate an act that fulfills the interests of both parties, but also the duty of carrying out a series of other activities and examinations regarding the property. Here is what he checks, in a nutshell:
Each party’s rights to buy or sell the property;
Each party’s legal identities;
If there are any kind of charges on the property, e.g. debts or mortgages (in other words, if there are any third parties claiming the house);
The presence of planning permissions (this aspect is generally checked with the assistance of a technician, like a geometra, architect, or engineer).
And here’s what he operatively does:
Calculating all the applicable taxes and collecting them on the party’s behalf (before the day of the Deed of Sale, monitoring the transfer of funds, this way ensuring that all taxes and related fees are fully paid in advance).
Drawing up the final Deed of Sale, making sure the title contains all the statements required by law.
Ensuring that the Deed is legally registered at the Land Registry Office.
After registration of the Deed, giving the hard and digital copy of the contract to both buyer and seller.
#4 Who chooses which Notary?
In Italy, the buyer (and not the vendor) pays the Notary fees, as well as all the purchase taxes. That’s why it’s the buyer himself who chooses the Notary, selecting one in the Italian register of public notaries. Here at Lakeside we assist buyers in choosing a local Notary, close to the town where they buy their house; we also ask multiple quotations to different notaries to pick up the most advantageous.
#5 The fee
The Notary fees largely depend on the rates applied by the Notary himself, on the cadastral values and on the price of the property. Charges generally range from approximately € 1.500 to a maximum of € 5.000, and also includes the costs for land registry searches, access rights, indemnities and authentication of all documents.
Do you have any specific question related to notarial issues? No panic, we can put you in contact with our local notaries!