Condominium Assemblies and Extraordinary Works in Italy: What Binds a Buyer

Picture a stairwell in an old building, a notice pinned by the entrance and neighbours gathered to talk about the roof. A buyer who takes the flat takes a seat in that room.

Most flats in Italy, and many houses that share a courtyard, a roof or a drive, sit inside a condominium governed by the Civil Code. This article sets out the rules on assemblies, majorities, minutes, works and costs, as the sources describe them, and lists the questions that a buyer normally puts to the administrator before signing.

Why does the condominium matter to a buyer?

The rules of the Civil Code on the condominium apply wherever a building has units in different ownership with parts in common.^[2] That includes a block of flats, a building in a historic centre and, for common parts such as a drive or a shared courtyard, a group of villas.^[3] Each owner holds a right over the common parts in proportion to the value of the unit and cannot renounce the common parts to avoid the cost of keeping them.^[4]

Three consequences matter at purchase. The assembly decides on common works and expenses by majorities, so a single owner does not decide alone. A resolution binds every owner, whatever the owner’s vote or presence.^[1] And the unpaid contributions of an earlier owner can follow the unit to the new one within the limits set by article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code, described below.^[5] The related points on buying inside a historic building are in the article on buying in a historic centre.

Who runs a condominium: the assembly, the administrator and the council?

The assembly, the meeting of the owners, approves the budget and the accounts, appoints and revokes the administrator, and decides on extraordinary works and innovations.^[6] The administrator (amministratore) executes the resolutions, collects the contributions, pays the expenses for ordinary maintenance, performs the acts that preserve the common parts, keeps the registers, including the register of minutes, and prepares the annual accounts, calling the assembly to approve them within 180 days.^[7] On the request of an owner the administrator also gives an attestation of the state of payments of the condominium charges and of any lawsuits in progress.^[8]

The administrator’s appointment lasts one year and renews.^[9] A separate bank or postal account in the name of the condominium is required.^[9] The administrator cannot order extraordinary maintenance unless the works are urgent, and in that case must report to the next assembly.^[6] The council, where one exists, advises and controls; it does not replace the assembly.^[10] The owners can inspect the accounting documents at any time and copy them at their own cost.^[10]

Which majorities do the decisions need?

The Civil Code counts two measures: the votes of those present, and the value of the building in millesimi, the thousandths that express the value of each unit. The table shows what each step requires under the Civil Code, in the text in force on 1 October 2026.^[11] Special rules for particular recovery works, which have at times lowered the majorities, are not described here.^[12]

The second convocation must be held on a later day than the first and in any case within ten days.^[11] The assembly cannot validly decide if it is not shown that all persons entitled were duly convened.^[11] A change of the destination of the common parts is governed separately, by two other articles of the Civil Code, which this article does not examine; the notarial guide reports higher majorities for it.^[15]

How is the assembly called, and what happens to the minutes?

An ordinary assembly is held every year. An extraordinary assembly may be called by the administrator or on the request of at least two owners representing one sixth of the value of the building; if ten days pass without a call, those owners may convene it themselves.^[16] Where there is no administrator, any owner may convene the assembly.

The notice must contain a specific agenda and be sent at least five days before the date of the first convocation, by registered letter, certified e-mail (PEC), fax or hand delivery.^[17] It must give the place and time or, for a meeting held by videoconference, the platform and time.^[18] If an owner entitled to attend was not convened, or was convened late or incompletely, the resolution can be annulled at the request of the absent or dissenting owner.^[19] The second convocation cannot fall on the same calendar day as the first.^[17] An owner may be represented by a written proxy; where the building has more than twenty owners a representative may not represent more than one fifth of the owners and of the value, and the administrator may not hold proxies.^[20]

The resolutions are recorded in minutes, which are transcribed in the register of minutes that the administrator keeps.^[21] Where owners take part by videoconference, which the law allows with the consent of the majority of the owners even if the regulation does not provide for it, the minutes are drawn up by the secretary, signed by the chairman and sent to the administrator and to all owners in the same ways as the notice.^[18]

Can a resolution be challenged?

A resolution contrary to the law or to the regulation may be challenged in court by an owner who was absent, dissenting or abstaining.^[1] The time limit is 30 days, running from the date of the resolution for those who attended and dissented or abstained, and from the communication of the resolution for those who were absent.^[1] Filing the claim does not suspend the execution of the resolution unless the court so orders.^[1]

The notarial guide distinguishes resolutions that are annullable, which are covered by the 30 days, from those that are null, which are not.^[22] The line between the two is drawn by case law and is a matter for a lawyer. For a buyer the practical point is that a resolution already passed, and not challenged within the time limit, normally stands.

What counts as ordinary and as extraordinary works?

Ordinary maintenance is the routine upkeep of the common parts and services, which the administrator carries out with the contributions collected and the budget approved by the assembly. Extraordinary maintenance and innovations need the assembly’s resolution, with the majority described above, and the assembly must at the same time set up a special fund equal to the amount of the works.^[23] If the works are paid in stages under a contract, the fund may be built up in line with each payment.^[23]

Innovations that endanger the stability or safety of the building, alter its architectural decorum or make a common part unusable by even one owner are forbidden.^[24] In certain cases, an owner who dissents from an innovation that is burdensome or luxury in nature may be exempted from its cost.^[25] On the request of even one interested owner, the administrator must convene the assembly within 30 days to deliberate on the innovations for safety, barrier removal, energy saving, parking and similar.^[26]

A special rule has at times lowered the majorities for recovery works on a single building made up of several units.^[12] It is not described here.

Who pays for the works, and from when?

Unless the owners agree otherwise, the expenses for the preservation and enjoyment of the common parts and for common services are divided in proportion to the value of each unit, and the expenses for innovations are divided in the same proportion. Where a service is for the use of some owners only, only those owners contribute.^[27] Stairs and lifts are divided half by value and half by height of the floor.^[28] Ceilings, vaults and floors are shared equally between the owners of the two floors, with the upper owner bearing the floor covering and the lower owner the plaster.^[29]

An agreement between seller and buyer on who pays binds the two parties only. It does not bind the condominium, which can claim from the owner on the register, according to the notarial guide.^[30] Case law cited in the Notes places the cost of extraordinary works on the owner at the date of the assembly’s resolution, in the absence of an agreement, and the notarial guide reports the practice that ordinary expenses are shared from the date of the transfer.^[31] The first ruling is discussed in the article on buying in a historic centre; it applied the wording of the rule on arrears that preceded the 2013 reform, so how it applies today is a point for a lawyer.^[32]

What happens to the seller’s unpaid contributions?

Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code deals with arrears. On collection, the administrator may obtain, on the basis of the apportionment approved by the assembly, an immediately enforceable court order for the contributions, without needing the assembly’s authorisation, and must give the data on the owners in arrears to creditors of the condominium who ask for it.^[33] Creditors of the condominium cannot act against owners who are up to date with payments until they have first pursued the others.^[34] If arrears last for six months, the administrator may suspend the owner in arrears from the common services that can be enjoyed separately.^[35]

Then come the buyer and the seller. Whoever succeeds to the rights of an owner is jointly liable with that owner for the contributions of the current year and the previous year.^[5] The notarial guide specifies that “year” means the management year of the condominium and that the buyer who pays has a right of recourse against the seller.^[5] Whoever transfers rights over a unit remains jointly liable with the successor for the contributions that fell due until an authentic copy of the title of transfer is sent to the administrator.^[36] According to the notarial guide, a declaration of completed signature by the notary may take the place of the authentic copy.^[36]

In short, a buyer is exposed to the arrears of the current and previous management year, whatever the deed says between seller and buyer, and has a claim against the seller. The seller remains answerable to the condominium until the administrator is informed of the transfer.

What does a buyer normally ask the administrator?

The notarial guide and the Civil Code point to the following documents and questions. They are listed as questions, not as a checklist for any particular purchase. In a given building, its regulation, its resolutions and its accounts decide the position.

– Is there an attestation of the state of payments and of pending lawsuits? The statute gives the right to an owner who asks;^[8] a prospective buyer, who is not yet an owner, normally goes through the seller.

– What do the minutes of the last assemblies record, and is any resolution under challenge?

– Which extraordinary works have been approved or are planned, in what amount, on what timetable, and has the special fund been set up? Who bears the cost, the seller or the buyer, under the resolution and under the preliminary contract?

– What are the accounts and the budget for the current management year, and is any contribution due or unpaid on the unit?

– Are there arrears in the building, lawsuits pending, insurance in force, reserve funds, and a refund of the seller’s share of the reserve?

– What do the regulation and the millesimal tables provide?

Where the works qualify for a tax deduction, each owner claims the deduction for the share attributed to the unit, on the basis of the certificate that the administrator issues (Agenzia delle Entrate).^[37] The same authority states that, on a sale, the unused instalments pass to the buyer of the unit if the buyer is an individual, unless the parties agree otherwise in the deed.^[37] Conditions, rates and caps change and are not described here.

Enquire

Thinking about a flat or a house in a shared building in Tuscany? Talk it through in confidence. Enquire →