If you’ve lived in Italy for a while or visit the country regularly, you may be accustomed to the sight of fashionable Italians taking an afternoon stroll through the centro with their extremely well-behaved dogs in tow.
According to Statista, nearly one in three Italian households has a pet dog.
Italian courts have in recent years recognised that our love for pets has constitutional protection and even treated them like children in custody disputes.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that it’s a common sight to see dogs in stores, restaurants, galleries – just about everywhere you find humans.
If you too cannot live without your furry friend, but are coming from less pet-friendly climes, you may be wondering whether Italy’s liberal attitude around pets extends to housing. After all, in many countries around the world, finding a dog- or cat-friendly apartment can be a real challenge.
But Italy’s pet-positive attitude doesn’t always translate into rental agreements. Read on to understand where your rights to a pet start – and stop – in Italian law.
Is there a right to keep a pet at home?
Italian law didn't use to protect the right of residents to keep pets in their homes.
Prior to 2012, if the majority of owners in a building of flats did not want their neighbours to keep dogs or cats, they could insert a clause into the building’s regulations to prohibit them.
READ ALSO: Five things to know if you're moving to Italy with your dog
That changed with Law 220, which amended Article 1138 of the Civil Code to state that “the rules [governing a condominium] cannot prohibit owning or keeping pets.”
What constitutes a pet is ill-defined in Italian law, but it’s generally meant to mean animals kept for companionship and not for food.
In the words of the law’s author, Gabriella Giammanco, the law does “not allow for keeping all animals at home, but just ‘family animals’ owned to provide company.”
Following the enforcement of Law 220, even a unanimous vote by the condo committee (assemblea di condominio) can’t prevent a resident from keeping a pet, as long as they pose no hazard to others.
And a 2016 court decision confirmed in one case that even a ban instituted before the 2012 law was voided by the law.
Great! So I can move in with my pet?
Not so fast! The above only applies if you are the owner of a condo or apartment. If, like many newcomers to Italy, you rent your home, your rights and responsibilities are entirely different.
Landlords in Italy have something called 'negotiating autonomy' (autonomia negoziale), which allows them to insert any number of clauses into a rental contract, including a ban on keeping pets.
READ ALSO: Eight things landlords in Italy can never ask of tenants
If you sign a contract with such a clause, you’re legally bound to honour it. Not doing so counts as “non-fulfilment” of your obligations as a tenant and may even constitute grounds for eviction without notice.
According to the University of Bremen’s TENLAW project, there’s still some doubt about whether landlords can insert these clauses when they “do not correspond to an objective interest" of the owner.
But so far, Italian courts have generally ruled them admissible.
Even if you don’t have a clause in your rental contract, you may want to check with your landlord about the building’s rules. While court decisions in recent years have largely tended to overrule building-wide bans, application is still far from uniform.
Okay, I’m allowed to keep a pet. What else do I need to know?
Having a pet comes with responsibilities, and not just to provide them a comfortable home.
It’s worth remembering that you’re still under an obligation to return your rental unit in the same condition as you received it.
Under Italian tenancy law, you’re responsible for any 'small repairs', like wear and tear caused by your pet to floors, fixtures and furniture – which can certainly add up over time.
READ ALSO: Who should pay for repairs in a rented property in Italy?
You and your pet must also be as good a neighbour as you can.
Don’t foul the property – pick up after your pet and limit its time in common areas. You may also need to keep your dog leashed in shared places, or muzzled if it can be aggressive.
Most importantly, make sure your pet doesn’t disturb the neighbours with bad odours or noise. Barking dogs are one of the most common complaints for apartment residents, so do what you can to keep that behaviour in check.
If you don’t, the courts can get involved, and it’s you, not the owner of the unit, who's liable.
Besides compensation, remedies imposed by judges due to excessive noise can include mandatory soundproofing and even mandatory training courses for pets.
For all the latest news and important information about renting a property in Italy, see our renting section.
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