ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Guido Alberto Inzaghi, Ivana Magistrelli, Silvia Gnocco and Gabriele Paladini, SI – Studio Inzaghi
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
of products and direct the flow of private capital toward more sustainable investments. The EU Taxonomy identifies a set of criteria for determining what is green and sustainable and what is not, and identifies all those economic activities that make a substantial contribution to achieving at least one of the six environmental objectives identified by the European Commis - sion. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The total investment volume for commercial real estate in Italy in 2023 was approximately EUR6.6 billion, decreasing by almost 45% compared to 2022 (although Q4 2023 saw more growth than the previous quarter, reaching approximately EUR2.9 billion, which was a 17% increase com - pared to the same period in the previous year). The contraction in real estate purchases and sales can be attributed to various factors: • High interest rates: High rates were caused by the constant increases made by the ECB to counter high inflation. • Increased difficulty in accessing credit: Rising rates caused interest rates on variable mort - gages to soar and prompted banks to tighten lending conditions. • Russia-Ukraine conflict: In addition to socio- economic instability, the war has also affected the procurement of energy resources, leading to higher utility bills and increased housing construction costs. • New post-pandemic housing needs: Restric - tions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of smart working have focused buyers’ attention on housing solutions with larger spaces and in suburban areas. • Increased focus on energy class: Italians are increasingly focusing on the energy class of
The Italian Civil Code is the main source of real estate law for civil aspects. Commercial leases are governed by Law No 392/1878 (the Tenancy Law), while residential leases are governed by Law No 431/1998. Zoning and planning aspects are mainly regu - lated by several national, regional and municipal laws and regulations. In this regard, the main national sources are Urban Planning Law No 1150/1942, which disciplines planning aspects, and D.P.R. 380/2001, regulating construction aspects. The main sources of the real estate finance law are: • Legislative Decree No 385 of 1 September 1993 (TUB), on banking and lending matters; • Law No 130 of 30 April 1999 on securitisation transactions; • Legislative Decree No 170 of 21 May 2004, on financial security agreements; and • Directive 2011/61/EU on alternative invest - ment fund managers. The real estate market is also facing the potential challenges of complying with complex new ESG regulations. Initiatives that closely involve the real estate market are Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosure in the finan - cial services sector (SFDR) and Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of 18 June 2020 (“EU Taxonomy”). The SFDR aims to bring greater transparency on social and environmental responsibility for financial markets, and to limit so-called “green - washing”. It also aims to ensure comparability
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