The New Legal Framework for the Circulation of Property Originating from Donations

 

On 26 November 2025, the law reforming the transfer of real estate originating from donations was approved. The proposal, put forward by the National council of Notaries, is of great historical significance, as it introduces substantial simplifications in favour of the circulation of real property.

 

Article 44 of the “Simplification Bill” intervenes in the system of the deceased, modifying the regime of restitution. Specifically, the reform introduces the principle that a person who purchases a property that the seller had received by donation will no longer be required to return it; the heirs will be entitled only to financial compensation.

 

The traditional system provided a “real” protection of the forced heir (spouse, children and, in the cases provided by law, ascendents) through the right of pursuit, a fundamental characteristics of rights in rem, allowing the holder to assert their right over the property even if it had passed into the hands of third parties.

 

If a donation infringed the compulsory share of a forced heir, the latter could bring an action for reduction, which resulted in the asset re-entering the estate. Through the action for reduction, therefore, if the statutory reserved share had been violated, forced heirs could have the testamentary dispositions and donations exceeding the disposable portion declared ineffective. The action for reduction could be brought not only against the donee but also against their successors in the title within ten years from the opening of the succession; consequently, the protection of forced heirs extended not only to the internal relations among heirs but also to third parties who had acquired the donated asset.

 

This uncertainty regarding the stability of donated property inevitably made its circulation more difficult, as the fear of potential legal actions by the forced heirs had a negative impact on the fluidity of the real-estate market involving assets of donative origin.

 

The new legislation therefore seeks to facilitate economic and commercial transactions by replacing the potential restitution of the property with a system of monetary compensation: by the position of the forced heirs is safeguarded by the preservation of  a credit right against the donee, corresponding to the infringer of the reserved share, with the result that the new owner no longer risks losing the property as a consequence of an action for reduction. In this context, the registration of the deed of purchase in the land registry provides an additional layer of protection, making acquisition enforceable against third parties.

 

The effects of the reform are manifold. Firstly, it results in a significant increase in legal certainty for purchases of property originating from donations, as the elimination of the action for reduction with real effects vis a vis third parties removes the risk of restitution or claims over asset years after the purchase. At the same time, access to credit is improved, since banks can now accept such properties as mortgage collateral without the previous cautionary measures or restrictions.

Moreover, given the ever-increasing number of real estate donations, it has become necessary to overcome a regulatory gap that for decades had indeed the free circulation of assets that had generated contractual uncertainty. The negative consequences of the reform is the inevitable weakening of the protection afforded to forced heirs, who can no longer rely on the donated asset itself. The action for reduction now produces only obligatory effects, meaning that the donee’s assets become the sole enforceable guarantee - an outcome that carries all the risks associated with their potential insufficiency. Ultimately, the legislator’s aim is to promote the circulation of assets obtained through donation, removing the uncertainties that have so far restrained the real-estate market, and to make the interaction between supply and demand in the sector more fluid and secure.