"Prima Casa" Tax Relief and Force Majeure: Analysis of Order no. 29069/2025

The purchase of a primary residence represents a fundamental milestone in the life of every citizen, often accompanied by a significant financial investment and the need to access favorable tax regimes. However, the maintenance of such benefits is contingent upon compliance with strict temporal and subjective criteria, most notably the obligation to establish one's residence in the Municipality where the purchased property is located within eighteen months of the deed. But what happens when unforeseeable events prevent compliance with this deadline? The Court of Cassation, with Order no. 29069 of November 3, 2025, has returned to clarify a crucial point: the concept of force majeure as applied to tax relief.

The residency requirement and tax benefits

In order to benefit from reduced tax rates at the time of purchase (2% Registration Tax or 4% VAT), Italian law requires that the purchaser must reside in the Municipality where the property is located or must transfer their residence there within 18 months of the purchase. Failure to fulfill this obligation results in the forfeiture of the benefits, with the consequent recovery of ordinary taxes and the imposition of penalties. The main requirements to access these benefits are:

• Not owning other properties in the same Municipality;
• Not having previously benefited from "prima casa" tax relief anywhere in the national territory;
• Transferring residence to the Municipality within 18 months, if not already residing there.

Disputes often arise when the taxpayer is unable to meet the 18-month deadline due to bureaucratic delays, structural problems with the property, or external events. In this context, Order no. 29069/2025 serves as a fundamental piece in defining the boundaries of taxpayer liability.

Force majeure according to the Court of Cassation

The Supreme Court was called upon to rule on the appeal filed by the State Attorney's Office against M., concerning the revocation of benefits due to the failure to transfer residency. The crux of the discussion lies in the definition of force majeure, namely that unforeseeable and irresistible event that makes the fulfillment of a legal obligation objectively impossible.

Regarding tax relief for the purchase of a primary residence, for the purpose of establishing a case of force majeure, one must consider the impossibility of transferring residence, within the term set by law, to the municipality where the purchased real estate unit is located, but not necessarily within the latter.

This principle is of extreme relevance. The Court clarifies that force majeure must be assessed in relation to the possibility of establishing residence within the municipal territory as a whole, and not specifically within the walls of the purchased house. This means that if the specific property is uninhabitable due to force majeure, but the taxpayer could have nonetheless transferred their registered residence to another address within the same Municipality, the force majeure might not be recognized as an exemption from the forfeiture of benefits.

Commentary and practical implications

The reasoning expressed by the judges of legitimacy in Order no. 29069/2025 shifts the focus from the property to the Municipality. The law, in fact, requires that residence be established in the Municipality, not necessarily in the purchased dwelling. Therefore, to invoke force majeure, the taxpayer must demonstrate an impediment that affects the entire municipal territory or a situation such as to make any registration transfer impossible. For example, a severe natural disaster affecting the entire area or insurmountable bureaucratic impediments related to the registry office could fall into this category. Conversely, a simple delay in the renovation work of a single house might not suffice if the taxpayer had the possibility of living, even temporarily, in another solution within the same Municipality.

Conclusions

The orientation of the Court of Cassation confirms a rigorous approach that is consistent with the literal wording of the tax regulation. For owners and industry professionals, the message is clear: the monitoring of the 18-month deadline must be constant, and one should not rely exclusively on the conditions of the purchased property. Residence is a territorial registration datum; therefore, to avoid heavy penalties and the loss of benefits, it is essential to evaluate every possible solution for the transfer to the Municipality within the established deadlines, except in cases of absolute and objective impossibility that transcend the individual housing unit.