Bills and the condominio in Rome: what to know

In Australia you ring a retailer and the power's on. In Rome you'll juggle meter codes, a council waste tax, five rubbish streams and a heating season that starts on a date set by the mayor.

The short version

Electricity and gas are on the free market. You pick a supplier and quote your meter codes, POD for power and PDR for gas. ARERA's Portale Offerte compares offers for free [1].
The TARI rubbish tax is paid by whoever lives in the flat, and in Rome it's run by AMA. Rome is collecting it in four advance instalments in 2026 [2].
Central heating can only run in set months and hours. For 2026–27 Rome's mayor has set 15 November to 8 April, up to 11 hours a day [3].
Tenants normally pay the running costs of the building, including 90% of the portiere (concierge) [4].
A building with more than ten owners must have house rules, but those rules can't ban pets [5].

Setting up luce and gas

Italian bills split the network from the retailer. The network company owns the cables and pipes and reads the meter. You sign a contract with a retailer (venditore), who sends the bills.

In Rome, the electricity network is run by Areti, part of the Acea group, and most gas pipes by Italgas. Water is supplied by Acea ATO 2. You don't choose the network company. You do choose the retailer.

Voltura, subentro or new connection?

When you move in, you'll fit one of these:

Situation	What it's called	What happens
Supply is live in the previous tenant's or owner's name	Voltura	Contract moves to your name without cutting supply
Supply was cut off when the last person left	Subentro	Supply is reactivated in your name, sometimes with a short wait
No meter has ever been fitted	Nuovo allacciamento	New connection, slower and dearer

To sign up you'll need your codice fiscale, an ID, your IBAN for direct debit, the meter reading on the day, and the POD (an IT code on the electricity bill or meter) and PDR (a 14-digit gas code). Ask the landlord for a recent bill. It has everything.

Choosing a supplier

The old regulated tariffs are almost gone:

Gas. The regulated service ended in January 2024. It's now only for vulnerable customers, such as people aged 75 or over, disability holders and those on the social bonus [6].
Electricity. Customers moved to the transitional "servizio a tutele graduali" in 2024. ARERA says that service ends on 1 April 2027, with vulnerable customers going back to a protected tariff [1].

New arrivals simply pick a free-market offer. ARERA's Portale Offerte is the independent comparison site. You enter your municipality, contracted power, annual use and whether you want fixed or variable prices, and it ranks offers by estimated yearly cost [1]. Every supplier must give you a one-page summary (scheda sintetica) before you sign, and switching later is free, with no new meter [1].

Things Australians don't expect

Contracted power. Most flats have 3 kW. Run the oven, the kettle and the washing machine at once and the meter trips. You can ask to raise it, which raises the fixed charge.
Estimated bills. Readings can be estimated. Send your own reading through the supplier's app.
Air-con in July. Top-floor flats can double their summer bill.
Free help. ARERA's consumer helpline, the Sportello per il consumatore, is on 800 166 654, Monday to Friday [1].

Heating: the season is set by law

This is the rule that surprises Australians most. Italy splits the country into climate zones, and central heating may only run in set dates and hours. Rome is zone D, normally 1 November to 15 April, up to 12 hours a day, with a maximum temperature of 20°C plus a 2°C tolerance [3].

For 2026–27, a mayoral ordinance has tightened that for Rome [3]:

Rule	Zone D standard	Rome 2026–27
Start	1 November	15 November 2026
End	15 April	8 April 2027
Hours a day	12	11
Maximum temperature in homes	20°C (±2°C)	19°C (±2°C)

If your building has central heating (riscaldamento centralizzato), the condominio decides the hours within those limits, and the cost is split by heat meters on each radiator or by flat size. If you have your own boiler (autonomo), the same law applies, but you control it. A split-system heat pump or an electric heater is the usual fix for a cold week before the start date.

Ask before signing a lease: centralised or autonomous? Last year's heating cost? It can be a large part of the spese.

TARI: the rubbish tax

TARI is the council tax for waste collection. In Rome it's managed by AMA, the city's waste company, on behalf of Roma Capitale.

Who pays. The person occupying the property, normally the tenant, not the owner [2].
How it's worked out. A fixed part based on floor area, plus a variable part based on the number of people in the household [2].
When. In 2026 Rome set four advance instalments, the last two due on 31 August and 30 November, with the balance billed later on the new tariffs [2].
How to pay. By pagoPA, using the notice that arrives by post or in the IO app.

Registering for TARI

Move in and register residenza at the Anagrafe.
Declare your occupation to AMA. Do it online through AMA's website or at an AMA office, giving the cadastral details of the flat (on your lease), the size in square metres and who lives with you. Rome's rules set a deadline counted from when you move in, so do it in your first weeks.
Check the first bill. Wrong square metres or the wrong number of people are common errors.
Close it when you leave. Declare the end of your occupation, or the bills keep coming.

If you're on a short furnished let, ask whether TARI is included in the rent.

Sorting the rubbish in Rome

Rome runs separate collections for each waste stream. Depending on your area, you'll use big street bins or door-to-door bins kept in the courtyard.

Organico. Food scraps, in compostable bags only.
Carta e cartone. Paper and flattened cardboard.
Multimateriale. Plastic packaging and metal cans together.
Vetro. Glass bottles and jars.
Indifferenziato. Everything that's left.

Bin colours and collection days vary by municipio, so read the stickers on the bins and check AMA's website. Furniture, mattresses and appliances are bulky waste (ingombranti). Never leave them by the bins. Take them to an AMA collection centre or book AMA's collection service.

Living in a condominio

Almost every flat in Rome is in a condominio, the legal body of all the owners in a building. It has an amministratore (building manager), an annual budget and house rules.

Who pays which spese

The law sets a default split between landlord and tenant, which your lease can change [4]:

Usually the tenant	Usually the landlord
Lift running costs and ordinary maintenance	Lift replacement and major repairs
Cleaning of common areas	Roof, façade and structural work
Water and electricity in common areas	Amministratore's extraordinary fees
Central heating	Building insurance
90% of the portiere's costs

Once the landlord asks for the money, you have two months to pay. You can ask for an itemised breakdown and see the receipts before paying [4]. Many leases instead set a fixed monthly amount for spese with an annual adjustment, so check the clause.

The house rules

When a building has more than ten owners, a regolamento (house rules) is compulsory [5]. Ask the landlord or amministratore for a copy. Typical rules cover:

Quiet hours. Often early afternoon and overnight.
Washing. Some buildings ban laundry hanging over the street side.
Bikes and prams in the androne (entrance hall).
Renovation noise limited to certain hours.

One thing the rules can't do: ban pets. The Civil Code says a regolamento can't forbid owning or keeping household animals [5]. Your lease might still say something, so read it.

Want to know which supplier other Aussies in your quartiere use, or how to word an email to the amministratore? Join Cooee Italy, our Facebook group for Australians in Italy, and ask. Join the community.

Bills and the condominio in Rome: power, gas, TARI and building rules