Last updated: October 2026
Every year the headlines come round again: buy a house in Tuscany for €1! And every year people ask me if it’s true. I bought my own village home in the hills above Pescia, so I’ve seen the paperwork, the roof and the builder’s quote up close.
The short answer: yes, €1 houses exist in Tuscany, but there are far fewer than the headlines suggest, they are mostly ruins, and the euro is the cheapest part by a very long way. Here’s what I found when I checked the comuni’s own websites, and what it really costs.
The quick answer
- Is it real? Yes, but in Tuscany it’s a handful of places, not a long list.
- Where right now: Fabbriche di Vergemoli, in the Garfagnana (Lucca province), lists €1 houses on its own website.
- The famous one: Montieri, in the Colline Metallifere (Grosseto), started in 2016. I couldn’t find a current list on the comune’s own site, so ask them directly.
- What you get: usually a building you can’t live in. Some have no roof.
- What it really costs: the notary, taxes, a surveyor, permits and then the whole renovation.
- Who sells: often private owners. The comune advertises and helps; it isn’t an estate agent.
Everything here was checked 30 October 2026. Schemes open, close and change, so always check with the comune itself.
Which Tuscan comuni have €1 houses in 2026?
Lots of websites print long lists of “€1 house towns”. Many are copied from each other, some are years out of date, and a few include places that have never run a scheme. So I only list a comune here if I could find the scheme on its own official website, or say clearly when I couldn’t.
Fabbriche di Vergemoli (Lucca province)
A scattered comune of about 700 people in the Turrite valley, in the Garfagnana, right in the Apuan Alps. Its own website has a page called Case a 1€ listing the houses on offer. When I checked (the page was last updated in May 2026), it listed three:
- Bovaio: part of a house in a small, still-lived-in hamlet near San Pellegrinetto, in the Apuan Alps park.
- Casa Gerardo, Vergemoli: one of the few houses left with a roof, by the old gateway into the medieval village. The comune is clear that it isn’t habitable (non è agibile).
- Casa Silvano, Fornovolasco: on the path towards Monte Forato. Just the outside walls, with no proper roof or interior, so you can only view it from outside.
The scheme is a little different from the ones you read about in Sicily. These aren’t council-owned houses and there’s no formal bando (call for applications). They belong to private owners, and the comune advertises them and gives information and support. The mayor, Michele Giannini, told Il Tirreno in February 2026 that around a hundred houses have been bought this way, many of them ruins, and that the idea dates back to 2006.
To ask about a house, contact the comune: the switchboard is 0583 761944 (from abroad, +39 0583 761944), or use the contact details on the comune’s website.
Montieri (Grosseto province)
Montieri is the Tuscan village that made €1 houses famous. It’s an old mining village in the Colline Metallifere, south of Siena, and the scheme began in 2016 under the mayor, Nicola Verruzzi. The comune acted as a go-between for owners of empty, crumbling houses and buyers, who had to renovate within three years or the house went back to the original owner, as reported by La Nazione and MaremmaOggi in 2025.
By May 2026 the mayor told Il Tirreno that 90 homes had been bought. But I couldn’t find a current list of €1 houses on the Comune di Montieri website, and some sites still say the project ended in 2020. So if you’re interested, ring the comune on 0566 906311 and ask what is available now. Don’t rely on a list from somewhere else.
What about the rest of Tuscany?
You’ll see other Tuscan places named on €1-house websites. I looked for each one I came across on the comune’s own site and found nothing current, so I’ve left them out. If a comune launches a scheme, it will be on its website (look for case a 1 euro or avviso pubblico) and on the official notice board, the albo pretorio. If it isn’t there, treat the claim with care.
None of the villages in my own patch, the Svizzera Pesciatina above Pescia, runs a €1 scheme as far as I could find.
What a €1 house really costs
The euro is symbolic. Everything else is real money. My guide to buying a house in Tuscany goes through the whole process; here’s what applies to a €1 house in particular.
Buying it
- Taxes. When you buy from a private seller, Italy’s registration tax has a minimum of €1,000, however low the price, plus €50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax (Agenzia delle Entrate, checked 30 October 2026). The rate is lower for a prima casa (main home), but the €1,000 minimum still applies.
- The notary. Every sale goes through a notaio, who checks the title and registers the deed. Ask for a written quote.
- A geometra (surveyor). For a ruin this is essential. They’ll check what’s legal, what’s on the land registry and what can actually be rebuilt.
- An interpreter at the signing if you don’t speak Italian.
- A guarantee. Some schemes ask for a deposit or bank guarantee that you’ll finish the work. In Montieri it was between €1,000 and €5,000, according to MaremmaOggi.
Renovating it
This is where the money goes. A €1 house usually needs a new roof, new floors, wiring, plumbing, windows and, in this part of Italy, work to meet earthquake rules. Most schemes give you a deadline to submit plans, start work and finish. Miss it and you may lose the deposit, or even the house.
Get proper quotes before you commit. Builders in the hills are busy, materials have to be carried up narrow lanes, and in a village with no road to your door everything costs more.
Living with it
- IMU, the property tax, which applies to second homes.
- TARI, the rubbish tax.
- Insurance, utilities and connection fees if the house has been cut off for years.
- Travel, if it’s a holiday home. Some of these villages are a long way from an airport.
Is a €1 house a good idea?
For the right person, yes. If you have the money for a full renovation, the patience for Italian paperwork, time to be there, and you love the village for itself, it can be wonderful. These villages need people, and the welcome can be very real.
It’s not a good idea if you’re looking for a cheap way into Italy. Ask yourself:
- Could I afford the renovation if it cost twice the first quote?
- Have I visited in winter, not just in August?
- Is there a shop, a doctor and a school I can get to?
- Can a builder’s van get anywhere near the house?
- Do I actually want to live here, or just own something here?
And here’s the thing a lot of people don’t realise: in these hills, a habitable old village house, sold privately, can cost much less than you’d think. It won’t be €1, but it may need far less work than a ruin. That’s how I bought mine, from a 93-year-old called Otello. Read the story of how I bought my village home.
How to buy a €1 house in Tuscany, step by step
- Check the comune’s own website for a current list or notice. Not a third-party site.
- Contact the comune and ask what’s available, what the rules are, and whether the seller is the comune or a private owner.
- Visit. In person, ideally more than once, and in different seasons.
- Get your codice fiscale (Italian tax code).
- Hire a geometra to check the building, the paperwork and what you’re allowed to do.
- Get renovation quotes before you sign anything.
- Sign at the notary, pay the taxes and fees, and register the deed.
- Submit your plans and start work within the scheme’s deadlines.
Please treat this as general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so use a qualified notaio and geometra, and an independent lawyer if you need one.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really buy a house in Tuscany for €1?
Yes, in a few places, such as Fabbriche di Vergemoli in the Garfagnana. But the houses are usually ruins or uninhabitable, and you pay taxes, fees and the full cost of renovation on top.
Which towns in Tuscany have €1 houses in 2026?
Fabbriche di Vergemoli (Lucca) lists €1 houses on its own website (checked 30 October 2026). Montieri (Grosseto) ran the best-known scheme from 2016; ask the comune what’s currently available.
Can British people buy a €1 house in Italy?
British people can buy property in Italy, and owning a house doesn’t require you to live there. A house doesn’t give you the right to live in Italy, though: that’s a separate visa and residency question.
What are the hidden costs of a €1 house?
Registration tax (a minimum of €1,000 when buying from a private seller), mortgage and cadastral taxes, the notary, a surveyor, any guarantee the scheme asks for, and above all the renovation.
More from the hills
- Buying a house in Tuscany: the basics
- Otello: the day I bought a Tuscan village home
- The Garfagnana: mountain villages guide
- 8 small villages in Tuscany you’ve probably never heard of
- Find a village with the Village Finder
Susan
