How to read a judicial auction appraisal

The enforcement judge (giudice dell'esecuzione) appoints the expert at the start of the sale phase (art. 569 c.p.c.). Usually they are a surveyor, architect or engineer on the court's register of consultants. In everyday language everyone calls it a CTU, although technically it is the court-appointed appraiser's report. They prepare it following the judge's questions and the forms the enforcement judge must provide (art. 173-bis, final paragraph). Reports from the same court therefore look very similar, while those from different courts may be organized differently.

The report is published on the Public Sales Portal (Portale delle Vendite Pubbliche) with the notice of sale (avviso di vendita), attachments, photos and floor plans. It is a long document: thirty pages is normal, and a hundred is not unusual where there are many assets.

Do not start with the value. The notice already tells you the price; the report helps you assess whether it holds up. Read in this order: right for sale, possession, planning compliance, restrictions and charges, condominium. Leave the valuation until last.

Which right is for sale

The first page states the right for sale: full ownership, a share, bare ownership or a surface right. A half share does not give you the house: it makes you a co-owner with someone else. The glossary entry on rights and shares explains the differences.

The appraiser must also check that the mortgage and cadastral documents filed by the creditor are complete (art. 173-bis, second paragraph). They cover the twenty years before seizure (pignoramento) (art. 567 c.p.c.). If the report identifies a gap in the chain of ownership, ask the sale delegate (delegato alla vendita) how it was resolved.

Possession

Find out who is inside and on what basis. If the debtor lives there, they may stay until the transfer decree (decreto di trasferimento). A tenant with a lease predating seizure may stay until it expires. The rules and timing are in the guide to occupied property.

Planning and building compliance

This section can change the price you can bid more than any other. The appraiser must verify building and planning compliance, whether habitability documentation exists and, if there is unauthorized work, whether it can be regularized and at what cost (art. 173-bis, nn. 6 and 7). Since December 2016 habitability is no longer requested through a municipal certificate: it is attested by a certified notification (art. 24 D.P.R. 380/2001).

Read three things. First, the building authorizations found (licenses, concessions, permits and amnesties), and whether the appraiser consulted them at the municipality or relied on statements. Second, the comparison between the lawful and actual state: an enclosed veranda, an extra bathroom, a mezzanine, a cellar converted into a living room. Third, the conclusion: regularizable, regularizable with estimated costs, or not regularizable and requiring restoration.

The invalidity rules for unauthorized buildings do not apply to transfers through enforcement proceedings (procedura esecutiva), so the property can be sold even if irregular. There are two paths to regularization.

The first is a building permit regularization (sanatoria) through a compliance assessment (accertamento di conformità). Art. 36 D.P.R. 380/2001, for work without authorization or in total departure from it, requires double compliance: the work must satisfy planning and building rules both when built and today. Art. 36-bis, introduced by D.L. 69/2024 (“Salva Casa”) for partial departures and essential variations, requires compliance with current planning rules and the building rules of the time. In either case the current owner can also apply. Art. 46, paragraph 5, D.P.R. 380/2001 gives the winning bidder a precise deadline: if the property qualifies for a building permit regularization, the application must be filed within 120 days of service of the transfer decree.

The second path is an amnesty (condono), possible only in limited cases. The unauthorized work must fall within one of the three amnesties (1985, 1994, 2003), by date and type. The claim being enforced must also predate the relevant amnesty law; for the 2003 amnesty, October 2, 2003 (art. 40, sixth paragraph, L. 47/1985; art. 32, paragraph 25, D.L. 269/2003). These situations are rare in 2026. The report must say whether the conditions are met and what it costs (art. 173-bis, n. 7).

The same “Salva Casa” decree expanded construction tolerances (art. 34-bis): for work completed by May 24, 2024, the permitted deviation ranges from 2% to 6%, depending on the unit's area. A report written before summer 2024 does not account for this.

If the report says “not regularizable,” budget for restoration, meaning demolition of the unauthorized part, and a property that may remain harder to sell afterward. If it says “regularizable” without a figure, obtain one from a professional before bidding. The property is sold in its existing factual and legal condition, and a forced sale carries no warranty against defects (art. 2922 c.c.). Unauthorized work discovered later remains your responsibility.

Cadastral compliance

The cadastre and planning rules are different things. A cadastral floor plan that does not match the property can be corrected by an update filing. This costs a professional's fee and cadastral charges, but does not legalize unauthorized work. Conversely, a correct floor plan does not prove municipal compliance. Many reports say in one line: “floor plan does not conform; update required.” It is a small expense compared with unauthorized work, but include it in the budget. If buying with a mortgage, ask the bank whether it requires the updated plan before disbursement.

Restrictions and charges

The report must divide restrictions into two lists (art. 173-bis, nn. 4 and 5). The first contains those remaining with the buyer; the second contains those cancelled or otherwise unenforceable. Mortgage liens and seizures are in the second: the transfer decree orders their cancellation (art. 586 c.p.c.). Depending on the notice, you may nevertheless bear the cancellation costs; see auction costs.

The first list contains matters that remain: easements, historic or artistic restrictions, approved condominium fees and planning agreements. A particularly sensitive case is housing subject to an agreement or subsidy. The agreement with the municipality may set a maximum resale or rental price and, in some cases, buyer eligibility requirements. For these properties L. 178/2020 (paragraphs 376 onward) also requires notices to the municipality and financing body during proceedings. If the report mentions an agreement, ask the delegate which obligations pass to you. Do the same for anything else in the first list that is unclear.

Point 8 of art. 173-bis concerns censo, livello (historic perpetual ground charges) and civic use rights (usi civici). They are rare in cities and present in many rural and mountain areas, from central and southern Italy to the Alps. Civic demesne land cannot be transferred, divided or acquired by adverse possession (art. 3 L. 168/2017): if the property is part of it, the sale may fail. Private land subject to unsettled civic use rights is not covered by that prohibition (Corte cost. 119/2023), but the right must be settled; ask the municipality or region about timing and cost.

Condominium fees and pending litigation

The report must state fixed annual condominium fees (spese condominiali) and extraordinary expenses already approved, even if not yet due. It must also state unpaid fees over the last two years and pending cases concerning the property (art. 173-bis, n. 9). This matters because the incoming owner is jointly liable for contributions for the current and previous year (art. 63 disp. att. c.c.). An approved extraordinary facade repair can cost thousands of euros. The report's figure is current only as of its date: ask the administrator or court-appointed custodian (custode giudiziario) for an updated statement. The guide to condominium fees at auction explains more.

Now read the figures. Art. 568 c.p.c. requires three: commercial area, value per square meter and total value. It then requires individual adjustments for absence of a warranty against defects, planning regularization, condition, possession, restrictions that cannot be removed and unpaid condominium fees.

A well-prepared appraisal starts with 85 m² of commercial area × €2,000/m² = €170,000. It then deducts €8,000 for regularization and restoration, a reasoned reduction for the absence of a warranty and €1,500 in condominium fees, and rounds the final value. If you find only “market value: €150,000” without the steps, the report does not explain how it got there.

Three checks to make yourself:

• compare the value per square meter with local OMI property values and listings for similar properties;
• compare the appraisal date with today: a two-year-old report may hold up in a stable market but not in a neighborhood that has changed substantially;
• check that reductions match the problems described: if the planning section lists three unauthorized works and the valuation deducts €2,000, something does not add up.

Comparing valuation and price is the subject of starting price and market value. With an account you can also start from the auction for an ImmobilScan valuation.

Attachments contain the evidence and should always be opened. At least check these:

• cadastral floor plan and appraiser's survey, comparing them with each other and the photos;
• cadastral records and mortgage searches;
• building authorizations and, for land where available, the planning designation certificate;
• photographic documentation, including interiors;
• leases and inspection records, if mentioned.

An energy performance certificate is not always available. The Tribunale di Locri's model notice, for example, asks bidders to declare that they release the proceedings from producing the APE and systems certificates. If you need them, you will have to obtain them yourself.

The report is not current: it describes the inspection day. It is not a technical acceptance inspection: the appraiser does not open walls, test systems or measure damp. Sometimes the appraiser could not enter and described the interior “as far as visible” or from floor plans. This appears in the inspection record and deserves serious weight.

Nor is it a warranty: there is no protection for defects (art. 2922 c.c.). Two cases remain. If you were sold an asset different from the one described, case law allows a challenge to enforcement acts (opposizione agli atti esecutivi). It must be filed within 20 days of when the defect could have been discovered and no later than approval of distribution (Cass. 7708/2014), so consult a lawyer immediately. If a third party proves they are the true owner and takes the asset from you, eviction by a third party with a superior title (evizione) allows you to recover the price from the proceedings or creditors (art. 2921 c.c.).

Reading the report is therefore the first step. Next come the viewing with the custodian, a check at the municipality with a trusted professional where there are discrepancies, and questions to the delegate about everything the notice leaves open.

• Date of inspection and report.
• Did the appraiser enter the property?
• Right for sale: full ownership, share, bare ownership, surface right.
• Matching cadastral data in report, notice and records.
• Continuity of ownership transfers over twenty years.
• Who occupies the property and on what basis.
• Building authorizations found, discrepancies, regularizability and cost.
• Habitability documentation present or absent.
• Restrictions remaining after the decree, including agreements.
• Condominium fees: annual, approved extraordinary expenses, unpaid amounts.
• Pending cases concerning the property.
• Valuation with area, €/m² and explained reductions.

For auctions on the Public Sales Portal, with an account ImmobilScan analyzes the report and notice and returns occupancy, costs, issues and value, each linked to its source document and page. You can go straight to the paragraph to reread with your professional.