Yes, the preliminary contract (compromesso) must be registered with the Revenue Agency within 30 days of signing. That is a tax obligation and does not protect the buyer if the seller sells to someone else or a mortgage is registered on the property. Transcription is different: it is made in the Land Registry, requires a preliminary drawn up as a public deed or authenticated private agreement, so in practice with a notary involved, and makes the contract enforceable against third parties. Its effects lapse if the deed is not transcribed within one year of the agreed date, and in any case within three years of transcription. Our buyer’s guide to the Italian compromesso covers the path from signing to deed.
