The Owner-Manager: When a Resident Runs the Building

A condominium may appoint one of its owners as manager, without turning to an outside professional. In this case Article 71-bis of the provisions implementing the Italian Civil Code exempts the manager from holding a secondary school diploma and from attending initial and periodic training courses. The good-standing and capacity requirements remain, however, and all the management duties under Articles 1129 and 1130 stay fully in place. The owner-manager is therefore not a manager with fewer duties, but one with fewer entry requirements.

The exemption provided by law

Article 71-bis provides that the requirements concerning the qualification and training are not necessary when the manager is an owner of the building. The rationale is practical: in small condominiums or those with limited needs, a resident may take on management without following the training path required of professionals. The exemption concerns only these two requirements; all the others continue to apply to the internal manager as well.

The requirements that remain

The owner appointed as manager must still hold the good-standing and capacity requirements. In particular they must:

• enjoy civil rights;
• not have been convicted of the offences listed in Article 71-bis within the sentence limits provided;
• not be subject to final prevention measures, unless rehabilitated;
• not be under interdiction or incapacitation;
• not appear in the register of dishonoured bills.

Losing one of these requirements during the mandate causes termination of the office, exactly as for a professional manager.

Management duties do not change

The owner-manager is bound by the same duties as an outside manager. They must keep the condominium register of owners, the register of minutes, the register of appointments and revocations, and the accounting register; must call the meeting to approve the accounts; must use the bank account held in the condominium's name, through which all sums must pass; must specify the fee analytically, if requested, and handle the collection of instalments and payment of suppliers. Even acting free of charge, they remain fully liable to the condominium for the management.

The condominium bank account

A point often overlooked by internal managers is the duty to route income and expenses through a bank account held in the condominium's name. Mixing the condominium's funds with the owner-manager's personal assets is one of the most serious irregularities and justifies revocation. Opening a dedicated account and not using one's personal account is therefore an essential rule even in self-management.

Advantages and limits of internal management

Appointing an owner can cut costs and bring management closer to the building's daily needs. The limits are the commitment required, personal liability and the lack of structured training in accounting, tax and safety. An owner who accepts the role should realistically assess the time needed and equip themselves with suitable tools to avoid mistakes in compliance. Civil liability insurance cover, though not always mandatory, is advisable for the internal manager too.

Tools for the owner-manager

Someone who runs their own condominium without being a professional benefits greatly from software that guides compliance: pre-filled mandatory registers, a guided statement of accounts, deadline reminders and tracking of movements on the condominium account. AmministraPro is designed for internal management too and makes the operations the law requires simple. You will find the features on /funzioni and the plans, suitable for small condominiums as well, on /prezzi.