How is the commission split between two agents?
Where the property and the buyer come from two different agents, the most common Italian practice is half each on the relevant side: the seller’s agent collects the commission from the seller and shares it with whoever introduced the buyer, and the same applies on the other side. It is not set by law, and other splits exist — 60/40 in favour of whoever holds the mandate is common on difficult properties. What matters is that the percentage, the payment point and what happens if the deal collapses are agreed before the introduction, not after.
The splits actually used
Fifty-fifty. The most common and the easiest to defend: each did half the work that led to completion. It works well where both have an established relationship with their own side.
Sixty to the mandate holder. Used where the property is difficult, where whoever won it has worked on it for months, or where the buyer arrives already interested and the second agent is largely an introducer.
Sixty to whoever brings the buyer. Less common but legitimate where the property was stuck and the buyer was built rather than intercepted. On an asset unsold for a year, whoever brings the person who buys brings the scarce half.
In every case what is divided is the commission actually received, not the theoretical figure. If the seller negotiates the commission down, both bear the reduction proportionally — the point that causes most arguments after the fact.
What to put in writing before the introduction
These five lines prevent almost every dispute between agents, and take ten minutes to write.
The percentage
, and what it applies to: the commission received, not the sale price.
Who invoices whom
Normally the agent holding the mandate invoices the client for the full commission and passes the share to the other, who invoices them for it. It is the cleanest form, and must be agreed beforehand because it determines who is exposed to the client.
When it is paid
At completion, unless agreed otherwise. If one side receives money at the preliminary contract, state whether the share passes immediately or waits.
Who keeps the client relationship
, and for how long. This is the real concern of anyone sharing a buyer, and it is solved with a clause, not with trust.
What happens if it collapses
If the deal does not close and the same buyer purchases another property from the same agent within a set period, does the agreement still apply? Either answer is fine, provided it is written.
The clause that protects the work, not the information
A confidentiality agreement stops the information circulating. It does not stop someone using it to deal directly.
A non-circumvention clause is needed: anyone who learned of the property or the buyer through you may not complete the transaction cutting you out, whether directly or through third parties, for a defined period — twenty-four months is standard.
It must extend to those who receive the information through the counterparty: the client, their family, companies connected to them. Without that extension the commonest circumvention is also the simplest — the spouse buys.
Why writing it first changes everything
An agreement negotiated after the parties have met is a negotiation between two people who each already hold what the other needs. Neither has any remaining reason to be reasonable.
Before the introduction, both have the same interest: that it works. It is the only moment when a rule can be set without sounding like a demand.
It is also why agents refuse to say who is looking for what. Not possessiveness: without a rule written beforehand, sharing means giving up.
How Realux works
In Realux the terms between the two agents are set before the introduction rather than negotiated after: the commission split, who keeps the client relationship, and the ban on dealing directly. It is the condition on which an agent will say what their buyer is looking for.
Before the introduction neither side sees the other’s details: you see that a match exists, not who it is. When both agree to proceed, the terms are already in force.
Request access to the networkFrequently asked questions
- Is there a percentage fixed by law?
- No. [Article 1755 of the civil code](${FONTI.cc1755}) says **by whom** the commission is owed — by each party, when the deal closes through the agent’s involvement — and not how much, nor how it is split between two. In Italy the amount and the split are freely agreed, and the provincial customs collected by the chambers of commerce are a reference rather than a rule. Which is why the written agreement between the two agents is the only document that counts if a dispute arises.
- Who invoices the client when there are two agents?
- The cleanest form is for the agent holding the mandate to invoice their own client for the full commission and pass the share to the other, who invoices them for it. The client has one contact and one document, while the relationship between the agents stays separate. Registration requirements still apply: anyone not licensed as an agent cannot invoice an agency commission.
- If the deal collapses and the client buys later, is it still shared?
- Only if you wrote it down. This is the situation that generates most conflict: the buyer introduced by a colleague does not buy that property, but six months later buys another one from the same agent. Without a clause covering the following period, there is nothing to enforce.
- Can I collaborate with an agent in another province?
- Yes, and it changes nothing in substance. What changes are the local customs on percentages, which may differ — all the more reason to fix the split in writing rather than assume it.