European property law
Squatters' rights in Italy: how long usucapione takes
Twenty years of continuous possession under article 1158 of the Civil Code, the only route open to a squatter. The ten-year route in article 1159 needs a registered title bought in good faith.
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- Statutory period
- 10 or 20 years
- What's different here
- occupying a home carries 2 to 7 years in prison since 2025
- Statute
- Codice civile, arts. 1158 and 1159
Italian law calls adverse possession usucapione. Article 1158 of the Civil Code gives ownership of land, and of other real rights over it, after twenty years of continuous possession. Article 1159 shortens that to ten years for someone who bought in good faith from a person who was not the owner, under a deed capable of transferring ownership, counted from the date that deed was registered. A squatter has no such deed, so twenty years is the number that applies.
Decree-Law 48/2025, converted by Law 80/2025, added article 634-bis to the Criminal Code: occupying or holding without title, by violence or threat, a property that is someone else's home carries two to seven years in prison, and so does helping with the occupation or taking money for it. It is prosecuted on the victim's complaint. The same reform added article 321-bis to the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which a judge can order the property returned, and where it was the complainant's only actual home the police can clear it and restore possession directly.
Italian law forbids private self-help. Changing the locks to push an occupant out can be the crime of arbitrary exercise of one's own rights under article 392 of the Criminal Code, and entering an occupied flat can be a violation of domicile, because that protection follows the place's use as a dwelling rather than who owns it.
Where Italy sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 3 have a shorter clock and 10 a longer one or none at all.
How it unfolds
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After 10 or 20 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
Before it is ever a court case
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
How long is usucapione in Italy?
Twenty years of continuous possession under Civil Code article 1158. Ten years under article 1159 for someone who bought in good faith, from a non-owner, under a registered deed.
Is squatting a crime under Italy law?
Occupying someone else's home by violence or threat is, under article 634-bis of the Criminal Code, added in 2025, with two to seven years in prison.
How are squatters in Italy removed from a home?
On the owner's complaint, a judge can order the property returned under article 321-bis of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Where the occupied property was the complainant's only actual home, the police can order the occupants out and restore possession straight away.
Can I change the locks on squatters in Italy?
Doing so without a court order risks the crime of arbitrary exercise of one's own rights under article 392 of the Criminal Code. The safe route is the court, or the police under the procedure for occupied homes.
Elsewhere in Europe
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.
Know who is actually in your property, before it becomes a court case.
Hand over one building and see every lease checked against what is actually happening on the ground.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so