contract

she should sign a contract - it is rare though as most italians want to put the rent in their pockets.  By declaring it they will pay tax.  it is undoubtedly better for your sister to sign a contract as she has more security and can claim (perhaps) the rent off her tax.

thanks very much Ram

there are new laws regarding rentals.. maybe should say the laws are being beefed up or more strongly enforced ..so your sister is dealing with someone that seems to be following the rules and regulations.. so i think that its a good pointer.. although should she not understand Italian then it would be not legal to enforce a contract without it being in a language she does understand.. i guess best to check the dates carefully and find someone to look at it  for penalty clauses and return of deposits... sorry am assuming she does not read Italian ..   should not presume this ... but Italy is changing slowly.. and this is just another of those attempts to regulate income derived from renting property .. i think also its a preperation for the soon to come federal changes.. i know its got put back once more but it is coming.. as is the new tax on tourists .. this will mean a property owner who rents or a hotel will have to charge a tax per person  for each night..  which then goes to the comune via your tax decleration form... there are exemptions for certain accomodation but as i dont rent any property out i have not gone into detail federal changes i have followed quite closely and it seems that beyond the normal debate about it being an imposed northern legislation to cut the costs of supporting the southern regions.. which in itself is not so simple as its supported by many in the south too... anyway what it is  aimed at doing in an income sense is making local comunes more aware of collecting local tax as the belief is that a comune that is more dependant on its own revenue gathered locally will be more careful over who is earning what and if its declared.. in fact its a very simple idea that should provide comunes with a wealth of local income that they have never bothered or even been empowered to have access to..  there is to be a tie up so that comunes who know all of us will be able to see tax declerations and therefore know for sure if those of us driving around in smart new cars or having visitors staying all the time will obviously look strangely at a zero income decleration and for the first time local spending is going to have to be accounted for with the regions ,provinces and comunes having to submit real budgets and show costs so that citizens can see whats being spent where and be able to elect people on merit of service and budget  a long way off subject.. but its a new Italy thats arriving i believe and one that will be much more aware and accountable .. to me its a good move... 

Perhaps we should start a new thread. The federalism laws are fine up to a point but are hugely biased in favour of the north.  They assume 1. that there are lots of people with jobs to pay local income tax  2. first and second homes - if first homes are exempt, then the weight falls on the second home, but most rich northerners nominate their holiday home in the south as a first house for one of the family, hence no tax.  They dont live and work here, but get all the benefits when they come in the summer.   3 The usual suspects will always have zero tax to pay, while those who dont have the connections/relations/know how will get slapped with a tax bill to bail out those who can play the system. We are in the south after all.  Population density in the south is low - very low in places  - which means the costs of road systems, travel, slipping mountains, overflowing rivers, fall on comunes with small populations and low incomes.   However it will enable central government to throw up its collective hands and declare that its not their fault...