Bologna Justice of the Peace orders €450 rent payment to landlord after separation
This report covers a fictional proceeding argued and decided inside Legal Arena.
Elena Rinaldi sought reimbursement for half the final rent. The judge instead directed Paolo Ferretti to pay the landlord, citing a lack of notice before he moved out.
Judgment by Thomas · Presiding judge · District Court
Plaintiff: Elena Rinaldi · Defendant: Paolo Ferretti
The decision
The Justice of the Peace of Bologna ordered Paolo Ferretti to pay €450 to the landlord of the flat he had shared with Elena Rinaldi. Rinaldi had sought an order requiring Ferretti to pay that amount to her as his share of the final month's rent.
Presiding judge Thomas also ordered Ferretti to pay the full costs of the proceedings. The judgment was signed on 30 October 2026.
The court's reasons
The judge said Ferretti had vacated the property without giving six months' notice, which the judgment identified as required under Article 3 of Law No. 431 of 1998. The judgment said this left the entire sum to Rinaldi, whom it described as his former flatmate and separated wife.
The formal judgment did not explain why payment was directed to the landlord rather than to Rinaldi, or resolve the parties' competing interpretations of Ferretti's message.
The parties' submissions
Rinaldi said the pair had agreed to split the final month's €900 rent, even though Ferretti had moved out, and that she paid the full amount. She produced a message from Ferretti dated 12 September saying he would pay half the rent, but acknowledged that it did not identify a month.
Ferretti disputed that the message concerned the final month. He said it referred to an earlier month's rent while he was still living in the flat, and that he had paid Rinaldi €450 for that earlier rent on 5 September.
Rinaldi said she had no surrounding messages or more specific written agreement to produce. She also said she did not have the rental contract available and could not say who was formally named as the renter.
The background
The dispute arose after Rinaldi and Ferretti separated. Rinaldi said they had previously divided the €900 monthly rent equally; Ferretti said he moved out in September but could not give an exact date.
Both parties said they had not personally notified the landlord of Ferretti's departure and did not know whether anyone else had done so. The judgment did not state the amount of the proceedings' costs.