Pasture land

First topic message reminder :

Our house is out in the country and came with a certain amount of land (3 o 4 hectares maybe?) which we don't do anything with.  Most, but not all, of the land is chestnut woodland and in years gone by the chestnuts were definitely "farmed".  The thought has occurred to us that we might look into doing something with it but have not got around to it so far.

I've recently had an approach from a neighbouring farmer asking permission to use some of the non woodland for pasturing his animals.  I can't see any reason why we wouldn't want to allow them to do so, but I would like to understand the implications to such an arrangement.  Is he expecting me to charge him for this permission, either in money or in produce?  Can this be an informal arrangement or does anyone need to be notified?  I really haven't a clue what issues might be thrown up so any suggestions would be gratefully received.

No, the interest rate has just been put down to 2.5%

I think there is some confusion between debts you owe the government/comune and debts owed to businesses. The latter is covered by the link you posted, under the former the interest charged is very low. However, fines will be added to this plus administration fees and Equitalia's costs (8% of the debt I think). This is how the figure is made higher. The government also recently issued a decree to say no-one's house can be put under threat over unpaid Equitalia bills so long as they are in contact with them so it is not quite as dramatic as it sounds.

So initially the fine is not "high" or even nothing at all, which is what people have told us verbally.

modicasa wrote:Renting land - do it with a contract, even if no rent is paid, do a carta privata between the two of you giving him comodato d'uso for one year - then renew it yearly.  The old adage of 20 years is for usucapione and is not for coltivatore diretti or farmers, who can claim inherited use after very little time.  It's true that all contract must now be paid by traceable means - but a comodato d'uso - very informal at least puts on paper the principle that you are allowing him to use your land for a set period of time.  THat is the important premise.  Renewing it annually saves you all sorts of problems - a contratto agricolo does give the farmer more rights than the landowner - I usually advise the owner to stipulate what can be done with the land, and usually the farmers want it because they get EU grants for farming the land.

Good sensible advice modicasa   

Thanks for the advice everyone, we’ll risk the tower and/or a fine   IMU is the only one we always have to chase up; we’ve always paid it ‘late’ and have never been fined, but there’s always a first time.  To be continued…

Admin, does the government decree apply to "prima casa" only or to all types of properties, including holiday homes? And I guess Equitalia's charges increase if payment is not made within the 60 days following their notice. I understand that those charges can become outrageous.

... think you will find in asny country if you don't pay your debts, then eventually you will end up broke or in jail... Still would like to see a bill for my IMU...

As of 3 Jan 2014, prima casa canot be pignorata - ie used as payment of debt by anyone.  But only prima casa.  Fines/sanctions on late payements to public bodies are negligible - at least for the first 6 months.  Literally pence.  However, the longer you leave it, the more incremental become the fines.  (I cant talk about Equitalia, because in Sicily we have SERIT which is a fluffy baby kitten in comparison).  The exception to 'public bodies' is the Agenzia dell'Entrate which apply fines from the first day of overrun - and they are high - around 30%.

Thank you, Modi, I thought that it had to be for "prima casa" only. And I was certain that unpaid bills escalate very quickly. I know of at least a couple of properties in our area that went into auction because of that.