Sometimes two apartments can become one home, but adjacency does not establish that your project is feasible. Before signing either offer, assess the proposed connection, building records, ownership, condominium position and required procedures. Also coordinate the purchases: if you only want the properties together, do not assume that two separate agreements automatically protect you if one acquisition fails.
| Proposed purchase | Document or assessment to request | What could go wrong | Before the offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two apartments side by side | Survey, building records and connection proposal | The proposed opening affects structure or other rights | Assess the actual location and works |
| Apartments on different floors | Structural and layout assessment | A staircase cannot be installed as imagined | Investigate the complete design |
| Units bought from different sellers | Both title files and draft agreements | One purchase proceeds while the other fails | Coordinate commitments, deadlines and payments |
| Units acquired in different names or shares | Proposed ownership structure and cadastral advice | The intended cadastral merger is incompatible with ownership | Align the acquisition structure with the project |
You are buying two existing properties, not the finished home
A combined floor plan can make the transaction look like the purchase of one large apartment.
Unless the seller has already completed the relevant works and documentation, you are buying the existing units and taking on a future project.
Separate three questions:
- What legally and physically exists today?
- Can the specific combined layout be achieved?
- What happens if either purchase or the project does not proceed?
The answer to one does not settle the others.
The same seller may own both apartments, but each still needs appropriate investigation. Different sellers add a further coordination issue.
What does “combine the apartments” mean?
Define the intended result before requesting a feasibility opinion.
You may want:
- A doorway between adjoining rooms.
- Removal of a larger section of wall.
- An internal staircase.
- A revised entrance arrangement.
- New bathrooms or a relocated kitchen.
- One integrated dwelling instead of two independent homes.
These are different projects.
A sketch should identify the connection, proposed rooms, entrances and changes to services. The professional assessment must follow that proposal rather than a general statement that “apartments can be merged”.
A similar conversion elsewhere in the building is useful information, not confirmation that yours follows the same route.
Can the wall or floor be opened?
A qualified technical professional should inspect and assess the relevant structure and records.
Two apartments sharing a wall does not establish that it can be removed. An upper and lower apartment do not automatically provide a suitable location for a staircase.
Relevant questions may include:
- Whether the wall or floor has a structural function.
- Position of columns, beams and shared services.
- Floor levels and available space.
- The resulting room layout.
- Safety and other applicable technical requirements.
- Heritage protection or restrictions affecting the building.
Ask what has been inspected, which documents were reviewed and what remains uncertain.
A legal review does not certify structural feasibility. An installer’s quotation or an attractive architectural image does not replace the necessary technical assessment.
Which building procedure is needed?
The applicable route depends on the actual works and property.
An internal non-structural connection is not the same intervention as an opening affecting a load-bearing element. Additional works or protection affecting the building may introduce further requirements.
Italian legislation accommodates certain combinations of units within the framework for extraordinary maintenance, subject to the relevant conditions. That does not mean every combination is automatically permissible or follows one filing procedure.
Before committing, obtain an assessment identifying:
- The project reviewed.
- The existing position of both units.
- The applicable procedure and technical steps.
- Any separate authorisations or consents.
- Material limitations and outstanding investigations.
Do not equate “no conventional building permit required” with “no procedure or constraints apply”.
For the broader renovation context, see The House Needs Work. Can You Still Buy It Safely in Italy?.
Do the condominium documents affect the project?
They can.
The apartments may be individually owned while the structure, entrances, landings and service infrastructure involve common property.
Review the proposed works alongside:
- Condominium regulations and relevant contractual clauses.
- The titles defining the units and associated rights.
- Any common space the design would use.
- Shared systems and access requirements.
- Relevant previous decisions or disputes.
An administrator’s positive response can help clarify the position. It does not necessarily supply every consent or resolve title and structural questions.
A project confined to the units does not automatically require the same approval as one incorporating part of a shared landing. The substance of the works determines the assessment.
Read Buying an Apartment in Italy? 9 Condominium Documents to Check for the wider building file.
Is opening a doorway the same as merging the cadastral units?
No.
Physical connection, building-law compliance and cadastral treatment are related but separate.
A fusione catastale, a cadastral merger, records the resulting unit where the applicable requirements are satisfied. It does not authorise building work or cure an undocumented opening.
Ownership also matters. A conventional merger requires the relevant ownership rights to be homogeneous. Buying one apartment personally and the other jointly with a partner may create a different situation from acquiring both with identical rights and shares.
Where rights differ, a separate cadastral treatment may be relevant. It should not be presented as equivalent to a conventional merger or as a solution to every project.
Decide the intended ownership with the notary and relevant advisers before signing, not after the works have begun.
Tax treatment, financing and any intended acquisition relief require separate assessment. Do not assume that two purchases become one for every purpose merely because the apartments will be connected.
What if the apartments have different sellers?
This is a central contractual issue.
Two separate offers may create separate obligations. If one seller accepts and the other does not, you may be committed to an apartment you never intended to buy alone.
The same problem can arise if:
- One title investigation identifies an unresolved issue.
- A seller cannot meet the timetable.
- One apartment remains occupied.
- Financing is available for a different structure than expected.
- A required project assessment has a negative outcome.
Explain whether either apartment has standalone value for you. If neither does, the legal structure should address that dependency before either offer is signed.
Coordination may involve conditions, compatible deadlines, payment arrangements and a completion mechanism adapted to both transactions. Merely describing each apartment as “part of a future combined home” may not achieve that.
What should the offers address?
The agreement should distinguish the existing purchases from the future works.
Depending on the transaction, relevant terms may include:
- Precise identification of both units and included accessories.
- The intended purchasers and ownership shares.
- The relationship between the two acquisitions.
- Delivery of documents and access for investigation.
- A defined assessment of the essential project.
- Any required result or authorisation.
- Realistic deadlines and a procedure for agreed extensions.
- Financing requirements.
- Vacant handover and availability for works.
- The consequences if a linked acquisition or essential condition fails.
- Custody, release and repayment of initial payments.
“Subject to merging the apartments” is too imprecise to answer all these questions.
The wording should match the actual project. Some matters may be assessed before purchase; others may require an application, consent or later procedural step. The contract should identify the required milestone.
A caparra confirmatoria, a contractual deposit with specific consequences on default, must be considered alongside each agreement. Read Caparra vs Deposit When Buying Property in Italy.
If you have already signed one offer, obtain advice on that commitment before assuming that a later condition in the second agreement protects both.
What if the apartments are already connected?
Investigate the existing connection rather than treating it as proof of an authorised merger.
Request records for the works, relevant plans, current ownership and cadastral treatment. Establish whether the configuration being sold corresponds to the documented position.
An existing doorway may leave questions about building procedures, structure, ownership or the number of units.
If the seller promises to resolve a discrepancy, the required outcome, responsibility and deadline should be addressed in the agreement. Do not assume that any existing arrangement can be regularised.
An illustrative purchase in Florence
A buyer finds two adjoining apartments in Florence owned by different sellers. A proposed layout shows a large living area crossing the dividing wall.
The buyer wants both properties only if they can become one home.
Before either offer is signed, a qualified professional inspects the proposed connection and reviews the available building records. The preferred opening affects a structural element, so the design and applicable steps need further assessment.
The legal review also identifies different seller timetables and a proposed ownership arrangement that needs alignment with the intended cadastral result.
The offers are prepared as coordinated transactions, addressing the defined project milestone, essential investigations, timing and payment consequences.
The buyer does not sign two unconditional agreements merely because both listings describe the apartments as suitable for combination.
This example is hypothetical, not a client case.
Send these six document groups before offering
- Both listings, addresses and unit identifiers.
- Both sellers’ title documents and available ownership records.
- Current plans and available municipal building files.
- Condominium regulations and relevant agreements.
- A marked sketch, technical opinion and any records of an existing connection.
- Both draft offers, proposed ownership, funding details and deadlines.
State clearly whether you would buy either apartment on its own.
How Govoni Law helps
For more than 16 years, our lawyers have assisted foreign property buyers throughout Italy. We act only on the buyer’s side.
We can review both acquisition files, the intended ownership, relevant restrictions and the contractual relationship between the purchases. We coordinate legal findings with the work of qualified technical professionals within the agreed engagement.
- Before You Sign Brief: initial orientation and identification of further work. It does not establish project feasibility or protect two purchases through a complete contractual structure.
- Light Due Diligence: substantive review where one genuinely limited legal issue can be assessed responsibly.
- Full Legal Due Diligence: wider investigation where both properties, title, project and transaction risks interact.
Drafting and negotiation must be expressly included in the engagement.
We do not sell or find property, design works, carry out structural surveys, provide tax advice or obtain visas. We do not guarantee a merger, regularisation, authorisation or lending outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Can two adjoining Italian apartments always be combined?
No. The particular buildings, works, rights and applicable requirements need assessment.
Is a CILA always sufficient?
No. The appropriate procedure depends on the works, including any structural elements and additional restrictions.
Must both apartments have identical ownership?
The intended ownership matters for a conventional cadastral merger. Different owners, rights or shares require specific assessment before purchase.
Do I always need unanimous condominium consent?
No universal answer applies. The works, common property involved and relevant contractual rights determine what must be assessed.
What if only one seller completes?
Your obligations depend on the agreements. If the acquisitions are interdependent for you, address that before signing rather than relying on an informal understanding.
Does a cadastral merger prove that the works were authorised?
No. Cadastral treatment and building-law compliance are separate matters.
Can I buy first and assess the project later?
You may choose to accept that risk. If the combined home is essential, assess the project and contractual protection before committing.
Before signing for two Italian apartments intended to become one home, send Govoni Law both listings, title documents, plans, draft offers and a sketch of the proposed connection. Tell us whether either purchase makes sense without the other.
We will do our best to reply to your request as soon as possible.