Buying a newly built or off-plan property directly from a developer in Sardinia is one of the most commercially attractive options for foreign buyers today. Modern finishes, current energy efficiency standards, and the prospect of a clean legal history all make developer sales compelling. For international buyers, however, this type of purchase is also among the most legally complex operations in the Italian real estate market — not because Italian law fails to protect you, but because those protections only work if they are properly invoked, verified, and written into your contracts from the start.
The legal framework governing developer sales in Italy differs substantially from a standard private resale. Understanding that difference — and making sure it is enforced in your favour — is the purpose of involving a law firm before you sign anything.
Why New Build Purchases Are Not Automatically Safer
Many buyers assume that purchasing a brand-new property is inherently less risky than buying an older house. In reality, the risks are different, not absent.
With a resale, the risk is mainly about the property’s past: planning compliance, title irregularities, unresolved inheritance, undisclosed encumbrances. With a developer purchase, the risk is mainly about the future: whether the building will be completed as promised, whether the guarantees required by law are actually in place, and whether the contracts you signed protect you if the developer encounters difficulties or makes changes to the project.
For foreign buyers, this distinction is critical. A developer brochure is not a binding contract. Renderings are not specifications. And a preliminary contract drafted by the developer’s own notary is, by default, written in the developer’s interest — not yours.
The Core Legal Protections You Are Entitled To
Italian law requires specific financial and structural protections for buyers of new build and off-plan property. These are not optional: they are mandatory, and their absence has direct legal consequences.
1. The Fideiussione (Bank or Insurance Guarantee)
When you pay instalments before construction is complete — which is standard in developer sales — you are transferring money for something that does not yet legally belong to you. To protect those payments, Italian law requires the developer to provide a fideiussione: a bank guarantee or surety bond that covers all sums you have paid if the developer becomes insolvent, abandons the project, or fails to complete it as agreed.
The guarantee must be issued by a qualified financial institution and must remain in force throughout the payment period. If the developer does not provide the fideiussione, or if the guarantee lapses, the preliminary contract can be rendered legally void — but only at your option, not the developer’s.
This is one of the most important points to verify before signing. If the fideiussione is not explicitly described in your preliminary contract, with the name of the issuing institution and the terms of coverage stated clearly, stop before proceeding.
2. The Polizza Decennale Postuma (Ten-Year Structural Warranty)
At the moment of transfer of ownership — the notarial deed — the developer is required to provide documentation of a polizza decennale postuma: a ten-year insurance policy covering significant defects in the structural elements of the building. Foundations, load-bearing walls, roof structure, floor slabs: anything that affects the integrity of the building and emerges after you take possession.
The policy must follow a standard template introduced by Ministerial Decree No. 154 of 2022, and the notary is required to verify its existence and compliance at the time of the deed. Failure to provide the policy at transfer of ownership constitutes a ground for you to void the purchase — again, exclusively at your option.
The decennial warranty does not cover cosmetic or maintenance issues. It covers structural integrity: the kind of defect that would represent a serious threat to the value and habitability of the building.
3. The Two-Year Warranty for Ordinary Defects
Separately from the structural insurance policy, Italian law provides a two-year statutory warranty for ordinary defects: doors or windows that do not close properly, plumbing malfunctions, finishes that do not match specifications, heating or cooling systems that fail to perform as contracted.
To invoke this warranty, written notice of the defect must be given to the developer within the two-year period. For international buyers who are not living in the property full-time, arranging a professional inspection of the completed property shortly after taking possession — before the two-year window begins to close — is an important practical step.
What the Preliminary Contract Must Contain
The preliminary contract (contratto preliminare) is the document that defines your legal position throughout the entire construction period. A developer’s standard form, presented as non-negotiable, almost always contains provisions that benefit the developer: clauses allowing timeline extensions without penalty, material deviations from specifications without compensation, and price adjustments linked to construction costs.
A properly drafted preliminary contract, reviewed and negotiated by a lawyer acting for you, should include:
- A detailed capitolato (specification document) listing materials, finishes, systems and quality standards, so that the developer’s obligations are concrete, not generic
- A cronoprogramma (construction schedule) with defined milestones and a confirmed delivery date
- Penalty clauses for delayed delivery, calculated as a daily or monthly rate against the purchase price
- Explicit terms governing what happens if the developer makes material deviations from the approved plans
- Clear reference to the fideiussione: the issuing institution, the amount covered, and the duration
- Your right to conduct professional inspections during construction
- A condition precedent allowing you to exit without penalty if the fideiussione or the decennial warranty is not provided in the agreed form
For off-plan purchases where the preliminary contract is signed before construction begins, the specific description of what you are buying must be anchored in documents — technical drawings, municipal permits, approved plans — not only in marketing materials.
The Role of a Law Firm in a Developer Purchase
Govoni Law is a law firm. The assistance we provide in a developer purchase is regulated legal professional advice — structured, documented, and priced in accordance with the ministerial parameters for legal fees established under Italian law. It is not a general advisory service or a document review carried out informally: it is legal representation by lawyers who are professionally accountable for the advice they give.
This matters in a developer purchase because the transaction produces a paper trail — permits, guarantees, preliminary contracts, plans, deeds — and you need someone qualified to read that trail in its entirety, identify what is missing, and advise you in writing before you commit.
Many new build and off-plan projects in Sardinia are presented and marketed through real estate agencies that have established working relationships with local construction companies. We regularly coordinate with agencies and developers as part of the purchase process, reviewing documents and communicating with technical staff where necessary. The legal review runs alongside the commercial and commercial relationship — without interfering with it — but ensuring that contracts and guarantees actually reflect what was agreed and serve the buyer’s legal interests.
Clients are free to approach a project through whichever agency or channel they choose. If you have already found a property or entered into early discussions with a developer, our legal assistance can begin at that stage. If you are still searching, our partner real estate agency can assist with property identification — but that is a separate service, and one that is in no way a condition for accessing our legal work.
Inspections Before and After Completion
For international buyers who are not physically present in Sardinia throughout construction, arranging independent professional oversight of the building process provides an additional layer of protection.
At the moment of practical completion — before the notarial deed and before keys are handed over — a final inspection (collaudo) conducted by a qualified geometra or architect should document the condition of the property, identify any apparent defects, and compare the physical state of the building against the approved plans and the contract specifications.
Any apparent defects identified at this stage must be formally communicated to the developer in writing, with documentary evidence, before or simultaneously with accepting possession. Accepting the property without noting apparent defects can be interpreted as waiving the right to seek remedy.
We can coordinate this inspection phase, provide the written communication to the developer documenting any issues, and advise on next steps if the developer’s response is unsatisfactory.
When to Contact Us
The right time to involve a law firm in a developer purchase in Sardinia is before you sign the preliminary contract — and ideally, before you pay any reservation fee.
At that stage:
- The fideiussione terms can be verified before you are financially committed
- The preliminary contract can be reviewed and negotiated before you are bound by it
- Any issues with planning permits or the developer’s title to the land can be identified before you have a financial stake in the project
If you have already signed a reservation or a preliminary contract, contact us with the documents you have. We can assess your position, identify what protections are already in place and what is missing, and advise on the steps available to you before the balance of the purchase price falls due.
How to Start
Send us the project brochure, any draft contract or reservation agreement, and basic details about the property and your intended timeline. We will confirm in writing what the review would involve, what the likely risk areas are, and how the process is structured from that point.
Everything from the first exchange onwards is in writing, in English. Our legal analysis, our advice and our recommendations are documented and yours to keep — to share with your accountant, your bank, or your family at any stage of the process.
No calls. No pressure. Just law, in writing.