Hosting Someone at Home in Rome: the 48-Hour Notification Requirement

In a nutshell

When you host someone at your home for a significant period, Italian law requires you to notify the authorities within 48 hours of their arrival. It doesn't matter whether it's a relative, a friend, or a colleague: the notification applies to non-EU guests as well as to Italian and EU/EEA citizens. It is completely free, takes a few minutes online, and protects you in the event of an inspection.

At a glance

Cost	Free. PEC (certified email — legally valid in Italy): €0. Registered letter: €7–10. No revenue stamp required.
Timeline	Within 48 hours of the guest's arrival.
Where in Rome	Online (Alloggiati Web portal or Polizia di Stato website). In person: Questura (police headquarters — also issues residence permits) di Roma – Via Teofilo Patini 23 (non-EU guests) or your local police station or Carabinieri station (Italian and EU guests).
Documents	Your own ID, the guest's ID document, residence permit if applicable (non-EU guests), and your property's address details.

Two different procedures depending on your guest's nationality

The process varies based on who you are hosting.

If your guest is a non-EU citizen, you must file a comunicazione di ospitalità (hosting notification) with the Questura — Ufficio Immigrazione di Roma, under art. 7 of DLgs 286/1998 (the Testo Unico Immigrazione — Italy's consolidated Immigration Act). The obligation applies regardless of the reason for the stay: tourism, study, family visit, work. It applies even if the guest is a close relative.

If your guest is Italian or an EU/EEA citizen, you must file a dichiarazione di cessione del fabbricato (property-use declaration) with the Polizia di Stato or the Carabinieri, under art. 12 of Legge 191/1978. For this second procedure, the obligation kicks in when the stay exceeds one month. Stays of under 30 days between Italian and EU citizens do not require notification.

In both cases the notification is free and does not change the guest's residency status or civil-registry records.

How to file the notification

For non-EU guests — Alloggiati Web portal

The easiest method is online:

1. Go to alloggiatiweb.poliziadistato.it
2. Register with SPID (Italy's digital identity for accessing online public services), CIE (Italian electronic ID card), or CNS
3. Enter the guest's details: first name, last name, date of birth, nationality, document number, residence permit number (if applicable), start date of the stay, and your address
4. Submit and download the confirmation receipt

Alternatively, go in person to the Questura di Roma — Ufficio Immigrazione, Via Teofilo Patini 23, 00155 Roma (switchboard: 06 46861), or send the form by PEC to ufficio.immigrazione.questura.roma@pecps.poliziadistato.it.

For Italian or EU guests — property-use declaration

You can also do this online via the Polizia di Stato portal with SPID or CIE, filling in the cessione fabbricato form with your details, the guest's details, the address, and the expected duration. You will receive a PEC confirmation.

In person: go to your local police station (Commissariato di zona) or the Carabinieri station with jurisdiction over your area. The form to fill in is Mod. 213; the receipt is free.

Useful note. If you have a rental agreement already registered with Agenzia delle Entrate (Italy's tax-revenue agency), that registration counts as a cessione fabbricato declaration — you don't need to file a separate notification for the tenant.

Hosting is not the same as registering residency

These are two entirely separate procedures. Keep them distinct:

• Hosting notification: the guest keeps their own residency address elsewhere. You are informing the authorities that someone is temporarily staying with you. Nothing changes in the civil registry.
• Change of residency: the guest officially moves their registered address to your home. This is a separate process handled by the Anagrafe (civil-registry office at the Comune, handles residency) of the Comune (city hall / municipality) of Rome — either online via ANPR (Anagrafe Nazionale — national civil registry database) at anagrafenazionale.interno.it, or in person at the Anagrafe Centrale, Via Luigi Petroselli 50, or at any district (municipio) branch. It requires additional documents and a Polizia Locale verification visit within 45 days.

It is common to do both: the hosting notification first, then the change of residency a few weeks later.

Mistakes to avoid

1. "They're family, so I don't need to notify." The law makes no exceptions for relatives — it applies to everyone, whether the guest is non-EU (art. 7 of the Testo Unico Immigrazione) or Italian/EU (Legge 191/1978).
2. Confusing the 30-day rule with the 48-hour rule. The notification must be filed within 48 hours of arrival. The one-month threshold only determines whether Italian and EU guests trigger the cessione fabbricato requirement. For non-EU guests the notification is always required, regardless of the length of stay.
3. Not keeping the receipt. Always print or save the confirmation. In the event of an inspection, that receipt proves you complied.

Special cases

Guest seeking asylum or international protection. File the notification with the Questura within 48 hours, attaching a copy of the asylum-seeker's permesso di soggiorno (residence permit for non-EU citizens). The guest retains all their rights (access to healthcare, inclusion in SAI/CAS reception programmes).

Undocumented non-EU guest. Filing a hosting notification does not regularise the person's irregular status. Hosting an undocumented non-EU citizen may constitute the offence of facilitating illegal residence (art. 12 of the Testo Unico Immigrazione). If in doubt, contact a specialist Patronato (free union-run office helping with social-security and immigration paperwork) such as ARCI Solidarietà Roma (06 41734712), Caritas Roma — Centro Immigrati (Via delle Zoccolette 19, 06 88815120), or ASGI (asgi.it).

Rented flat: do you need the landlord's permission? No. The tenant can host whoever they wish without asking for authorisation. However, many rental contracts contain clauses prohibiting prolonged co-habitation by non-family third parties. In that case it is prudent to inform the landlord.

Social housing (ATER properties). Prolonged hosting in an ATER (Rome's social-housing authority) property requires prior authorisation from ATER. Without it, you risk penalties and loss of your tenancy assignment.

Airbnb and short-term private lets. If you are a private host renting out your home, you must file a notification via the Alloggiati Web portal for each guest within 24 hours of arrival. The platform does not file on your behalf.

Official sources

• Polizia di Stato
• Questura di Roma
• Alloggiati Web — Polizia di Stato
• Ministero dell'Interno
• Roma Capitale — Anagrafe
• ANPR — National Civil Registry
• DLgs 286/1998 Testo Unico Immigrazione (Normattiva)
• Legge 191/1978 (Normattiva)

Legal references: DLgs 25/07/1998 n. 286 art. 7; Legge 18/05/1978 n. 191 art. 12; DPR 30/05/1989 n. 223; Codice Civile artt. 43-44; DL 09/02/2012 n. 5 conv. Legge 04/04/2012 n. 35.