A clear, professional guide from a Sicilian architect—so your dream stays beautiful, feasible, and hassle-free
BUYING, BUILDING AND RENOVATING IN SICILY - A FULL GUIDE
This article is part of an ongoing guide for foreign buyers who want to buy, build, or renovate in Sicily with confidence.
Chapter 5
Why due diligence is not distrust (it’s risk control)
This chapter gives you the logic of a foreign-buyer due diligence pack: what to request, what it proves, and in what order. It focuses on four essential questions—what is being sold, legitimacy, constraints, and deliverability (access/utilities). The aim is to replace assumptions with evidence before you commit deposits or sign binding steps.
Foreign buyers often tell me: “We don’t want to be difficult. We just want to buy safely.” And that sentence is exactly why this chapter matters. In Sicily, due diligence is not about distrust. It is about replacing assumptions with evidence, before your offer becomes a commitment.
Italy’s property system involves multiple layers of information. Some documents identify the property, some describe its planning history, some reveal constraints, and some sit on the legal and tax tracks. When these layers are checked in the right order, the process feels calm. When they are skipped, the same project can become a sequence of surprises.
The four questions every document pack must answer
Before you pay any deposit or move into binding steps, your minimum document pack should answer four questions:
- What exactly is being sold?
- Is it legitimate in planning terms (stato legittimo)?
- Are there constraints that will shape what you can do?
- Are access and utilities deliverable?
If you cannot answer these four questions with evidence, you are not buying a property—you are buying uncertainty.
Layer 1 — Identification documents (Catasto)
Visura, planimetria, identifiers (foglio/particella/sub)
This is where Catasto documents are useful: the cadastral extract (visura catastale) and the cadastral plan (planimetria catastale). They help you confirm identifiers (foglio, particella, sub), locate the unit, check basic consistency, and support the notary track.
What Catasto does not prove
Catasto documents are not proof of planning legality. Treat them as a map, not as a certificate. A property can appear perfectly registered and still include works that were never authorised correctly.
Layer 2 — Planning legitimacy (‘stato legittimo’)
Permit history and approved drawings
The second layer is planning legitimacy—what Italian professionals call stato legittimo. Here you want the permit history: the original authorisation and later permissions that changed the building (extensions, terraces, changes of use, and relevant internal changes).
Layer 3 — Constraints and planning context
Landscape / coastal / heritage sensitivities
Sicily is full of extraordinary places—and many of them come with rules. You may be in a landscape-protected context, a coastal band, a heritage area, or a zone with local planning prescriptions.
What constraints change (scope, time, approvals)
Constraints do not automatically mean “no”. They mean your strategy must be designed around approvals. They can change the scope of external works, the approval pathway, and the timeline—especially in visible locations.
Layer 4 — Deliverability: access and utilities
Why rural properties fail here most often
In the countryside, the most expensive surprises often have nothing to do with finishes. They come from a right of way that is informal, a water solution that is unclear, a wastewater system that requires a different approach, or an electrical connection that takes time and cost. These topics must be treated as early feasibility—not as “we’ll sort it later”.
Aligning the technical, notary and tax tracks
A final note about roles: the notary is central to the legal transfer, but technical feasibility is not the notary’s job. Your technical team checks legitimacy, constraints, access and deliverability. Your tax adviser clarifies costs and structure. The calm process is the alignment of these tracks before you sign binding commitments.
Milestones (this phase)
> Request cadastral extract (visura) and cadastral plan (planimetria) and verify identifiers.
> Confirm what is being sold matches what is registered (units, boundaries, accessories).
> Request permit history (original authorisation + later amendments) where available.
> Where needed, initiate municipal records access (accesso agli atti) to reconstruct approvals.
> Identify constraints context (landscape/coast/heritage/local planning prescriptions).
> Verify legal access (rights of way, easements) and high-level utilities feasibility.
> Align technical findings with the notary’s legal checks and with tax advice.
> Produce a written go/no-go summary before deposits or binding steps.
How Bureau69 Architects can help
- Provide a document request pack tailored to your property type (rural, coastal, land, historic).
- Reconstruct legitimate status via technical due diligence and accesso agli atti where needed.
- Map constraints and translate them into practical scope and timeline implications.
- Screen access and utilities early to avoid rural ‘hidden infrastructure’ surprises.
- Coordinate with your notary and advisers so technical findings translate into safe decisions.
- Deliver a clear written go/no-go note and a calm next-step plan.
If you have a specific property, message me on WhatsApp for a Due Diligence & Go/No-Go review. I’ll confirm the key risks and next steps in writing, then we’ll schedule a call.
Send a message on Whatsapp
FAQ
What documents do I need to buy property in Sicily?
At minimum: Catasto identifiers/extracts, permit history to verify legitimate status, constraints context, and evidence for access/utilities feasibility.
What’s the difference between notary checks and technical due diligence?
The notary covers legal transfer. Technical due diligence covers planning legitimacy, constraints, access/utilities and overall feasibility.
Should I request documents before viewing?
If possible, yes—especially identifiers and any permit/constraint information. It reduces wasted time and prevents emotional acceleration.
Should I request documents before viewing?
If it matters, get it in writing. Written evidence protects your budget, timeline and peace of mind.
If it matters, get it in writing. Written evidence protects your budget, timeline and peace of mind.
Reading the guide
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