Tax Observatory › Property and individuals › Letting to University of Ferrara students: tenancy agreement, 10% flat-rate tax, registration and IMU

Letting to University of Ferrara students: tenancy agreement, 10% flat-rate tax, registration and IMU

A Ferrara landlord letting to Unife students can use the contratto per studenti universitari (student tenancy agreement under the local rent agreement) provided for in Article 5, paragraph 2, of Law 431/1998, in the version set out in the accordo territoriale (local rent agreement) filed on 18 October 2023. If the contract complies with the agreement, the cedolare secca (flat-rate rental income tax) falls to 10% and the IMU (municipal property tax) is reduced by one quarter; contracts concluded without the assistance of a signatory organisation require an attestazione di rispondenza (certificate of compliance).

Anyone letting a flat or a room in Ferrara to a student enrolled at the University of Ferrara can enter into the student tenancy agreement (Article 5, paragraphs 2 and 3, of Law 431/1998; Article 3 of the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017), with the rent set by the local rent agreement filed with the Municipality on 18 October 2023 and a term of between six months and three years. Registration is applied for using the modello RLI (lease registration form) within thirty days; under the flat-rate tax, with no registration tax or stamp duty, the rate is 10% because Ferrara is a municipality with high housing pressure. For IMU, the reduction to 75% under Article 1, paragraph 760, of Law 160/2019 applies, and in Ferrara it is combined with the reduced municipal rate for leases at canone concordato (agreed rent).

The student tenancy agreement and the Ferrara local rent agreement

Article 5, paragraph 2, of Law 431/1998 allows contracts meeting the housing needs of university students, based on the standard forms approved under Article 4-bis; paragraph 3 entrusts the local agreements on rents to the municipalities that host a university. The criteria are set out in Article 3 of the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017: a tenant enrolled in a degree or postgraduate course in a municipality other than that of residence, a term of between six months and three years, renewal on the first expiry unless the tenant gives notice to quit between one and three months beforehand, signature by the individual student, by groups of students or by the regional agencies for the right to education (aziende per il diritto allo studio), and the standard contract in Allegato C (Annex C).

In Ferrara the agreement in force was filed with the Municipality on 18 October 2023, applies to contracts commencing on or after the following day and replaces the agreement of 26 March 2018; the signatories are Asppi, Confabitare, Confedilizia, Unioncasa, Uppi and Confappi for landlords, and Sunia, Sicet, Uniat and Assocasa for tenants. The Municipality publishes the agreement together with the student contract (Annex C), the table of rents by homogeneous zone (Annex 1), the list of streets (Annex 5) and the certificate template (Annex 4, which the Municipality calls attestazione di conformità). The same page also carries a supplement to the agreement, to be read together with the 2023 text before the rent is set. The general framework of the canone concordato in Ferrara is already covered in the Osservatorio; what matters here is that the rent is calculated on the parameters of the agreement, because it is this compliance that supports the tax benefits.

If the parties are not assisted by a signatory organisation, they must obtain the certificate of compliance (Article 1, paragraph 8, and Article 3, paragraph 5, of the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017), which the Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency) regards as a necessary element for the tax benefits (Resolution No. 31/E of 20 April 2018); attaching it to the registration application is advisable but not compulsory, and it attracts neither registration tax nor stamp duty.

Registration and the flat-rate tax

Registration must be applied for within thirty days of signature (Article 17 of Presidential Decree 131/1986) using the RLI form approved by Measure No. 64442 of 19 March 2019. Under the option for the flat-rate tax (Article 3 of Legislative Decree 23/2011), the substitute tax replaces IRPEF (personal income tax), the regional and municipal surtaxes and, under paragraph 2, registration tax and stamp duty on the contract, including on extensions and terminations. The rate is 10% for contracts under Article 8 of Law 431/1998 in municipalities with high housing pressure, on a permanent basis from 2020 (Article 1, paragraph 6, of Law 160/2019); Circular No. 26/E of 1 June 2011, point 6.2, expressly includes agreed-rent contracts for university students. Ferrara is on the list as a provincial capital (Article 1, paragraph 1, point (b), of Decree-Law 551/1988) and in Annex A to CIPE Resolution 87/2003. The landlord waives any rent adjustment and notifies each tenant in advance by registered letter, not by hand delivery (Article 3, paragraph 11; Circular No. 26/E/2011, points 8.2 and 8.3); no notification is needed if the waiver is already written into the contract.

Landlords who remain under ordinary IRPEF are taxed on 95% of the rent (Article 37, paragraph 4-bis, of the TUIR (Consolidated Income Tax Act); from 2027 Article 39, paragraph 5, of Legislative Decree 117/2026), further reduced by 30% (Article 8, paragraphs 1 and 3, of Law 431/1998; from 2027 Article 39, paragraph 7, of Legislative Decree 117/2026); the 2% registration tax (Article 5 of the Tariff, Part One, of Presidential Decree 131/1986) is calculated on 70% of the annual rent.

Example: a room at EUR 450 per month, annual rent EUR 5,400, flat-rate tax EUR 540 with no registration tax or stamp duty. A flat with a rendita catastale (cadastral income) of EUR 500: IMU base 500 × 1.05 × 160 = EUR 84,000; at the municipal rate of 0.5% the tax is EUR 420, reduced to 75% to EUR 315, against EUR 856.80 at the ordinary rate of 1.02%.

IMU in Ferrara

The Municipality’s 2025 rate schedule published by the Department of Finance (City Council Resolution No. 17 of 24 February 2025) provides for 0.5% for dwellings let under local rent agreements as defined in the municipal regulation, against the ordinary 1.02%, and specifies that the reduction under paragraph 760 is applied to the rate for that category and that only registered contracts count. For 2026 the Municipality refers to an information leaflet on its IMU page; the rates for the year must be checked, before payment, on the 2026 schedule published on the fiscal federalism portal, together with the regulation, which may require a notification in order to apply the reduced rate. Payment is due on 16 June and 16 December; the 2026 IMU return must be filed by 30 June 2027, electronically only (Article 1, paragraph 768-bis, of Law 160/2019, introduced by Legislative Decree 147/2026).

Recurring cases

A single room and several contracts for the same flat: Annex C is used in the ‘portion of a dwelling’ variant, with one contract for each portion. The Ferrara agreement sets the rent for the portion as a fraction of the rent for the whole dwelling, in proportion to the exclusive floor area plus the share of the common areas, with a dimensioned floor plan attached to the contract; a rent per number of occupants is not allowed, and the agreed rent does not apply to bed spaces. The statements are made on forms Annex 2P or Annex 3P. If the contracts are signed at the same time with identical content, a single certificate is sufficient (Reply No. 105 of 12 December 2018); opting for the flat-rate tax on one portion binds all the portions let in the same period (Circular No. 26/E/2011, point 1.2).

A parent who signs: the tenant must be the enrolled student; the parent takes part as surety or guarantor at the foot of the contract (Article 4 of Annex C, other forms of guarantee), not as tenant. In our view, putting the contract in the parent’s name exposes the landlord to disputes with the tax authorities over the 10% rate, because the personal requirement under Article 3 of the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017 is not met. The tax credit under Article 15, paragraph 1, point (i-sexies), of the TUIR (from 2027 Article 14, paragraph 1, point (z), of Legislative Decree 117/2026) is available to the student or, under paragraph 2 (from 2027 Article 14, paragraph 6, of Legislative Decree 117/2026), to the parent who has the student as a dependant, at the rate of 19% (Article 1, paragraph 4, of Decree-Law 669/1996, converted into law by Law 30/1997). The conditions: rent of up to EUR 2,633 per year, a university at least 100 kilometres away and located in a province other than that of the municipality of residence, a property in the municipality of the university or in a neighbouring municipality, and traceable payments; for income above EUR 75,000 the overall cap under Article 16-ter of the TUIR applies.

Withdrawal by the student: Annex C (Article 9) allows withdrawal for serious reasons by registered letter with three months’ notice, including by only one of the tenants, with the contract continuing for the others.

Foreign student: registration absorbs the notification of transfer of a building (comunicazione di cessione di fabbricato) under Article 12 of Decree-Law 59/1978 (Article 2, paragraph 1, of Decree-Law 79/2012), but, under paragraph 4, the written notification within forty-eight hours to the public security authority required by Article 7 of Legislative Decree 286/1998 still applies, and falls on the landlord who makes the accommodation available to non-EU nationals or stateless persons. For properties handled by the Ferrara office the notification goes to the Questura di Ferrara (police headquarters).

In practice

• Landlord: rent from the table of homogeneous zones in the 2023 agreement, Annex C; if not assisted, certificate of compliance (Annex 3 or 3P and Annex 4), as a rule before registration and in any event for a contract that is registered or being registered.
• Landlord: one registered letter waiving rent adjustment for each student tenant, unless the contract contains a clause to that effect; RLI form within thirty days with the option for the flat-rate tax; retention of the contract, the certificate, the registration receipt and the registered letter.
• Landlord: IMU at the reduced municipal rate with the reduction to 75%, check of the regulation for any notification due by 31 December, payments on 16 June and 16 December.
• Landlord, if the student is a non-EU national or stateless: written notification to the public security authority within forty-eight hours of making the accommodation available (Article 7 of Legislative Decree 286/1998), with the details of the student’s identity document; fine of EUR 500 to EUR 3,500 (paragraph 2-bis).
• Student or parent: registered contract and bank transfers for the tax credit.

Frequently asked questions

Can the student contract last a single academic year?

Yes: the term is between six months and three years (Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017); in Ferrara, less than six months is also possible if the course is shorter. On the first expiry the contract is renewed for the same period, up to 36 months in total, unless the tenant gives notice to quit between one and three months beforehand; under the Annex C model the landlord has no right to give notice to quit at the first expiry.

Is the 10% flat-rate tax available without the certificate?

For non-assisted contracts signed after the agreement that implemented the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 2017, no: Resolution No. 31/E/2018 treats the certificate as a necessary element. In Ferrara the agreement in force dates from 2023, so the certificate is required.

Does the IMU reduction apply if the landlord has not opted for the flat-rate tax?

Yes. The reduction to 75% under Article 1, paragraph 760, of Law 160/2019 depends on the registered agreed-rent contract, not on how the rent is taxed.

Sources

Legislative Decree No. 147 of 7 August 2026, Article 26 (paragraph 768-bis of Law 160/2019)

Decree-Law No. 669 of 31 December 1996, Article 1, paragraph 4, converted into law by Law No. 30 of 28 February 1997

Law No. 431 of 9 December 1998, Articles 4-bis, 5 and 8 (Normattiva, text in force on 28/10/2026)

Decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure of 16 January 2017, Articles 1, paragraph 8, and 3 (Official Gazette No. 62 of 15 March 2017)

Legislative Decree No. 23 of 14 March 2011, Article 3, paragraphs 2 and 11; Law No. 160 of 27 December 2019, Article 1, paragraphs 6, 754 and 760

Presidential Decree No. 131 of 26 April 1986, Article 17; Presidential Decree No. 917 of 22 December 1986, Articles 15, 16-ter and 37; Legislative Decree No. 117 of 19 June 2026, Articles 14 and 39

Decree-Law No. 79 of 20 June 2012, Article 2; Decree-Law No. 59 of 21 March 1978, Article 12; Legislative Decree No. 286 of 25 July 1998, Article 7

CIPE Resolution No. 87 of 13 November 2003, Annex A (Emilia-Romagna: Ferrara)

Italian Revenue Agency: Circular No. 26/E of 1 June 2011; Resolution No. 31/E of 20 April 2018; Reply No. 105 of 12 December 2018; Measure No. 64442 of 19 March 2019 (RLI form); Guide to residential leases

Municipality of Ferrara: certificate of filing of the local rent agreement of 18 October 2023 and annexes; IMU 2026 page; Department of Finance IMU rate schedule ID 539 (City Council Resolution No. 17 of 24 February 2025)