Can the administrator hold proxies at the meeting?

Proxies to attend any meeting cannot be granted to the condominium administrator. This is established by Article 67 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code. The prohibition is clear-cut and aims to prevent the person who manages the condominium from voting in place of the owners on matters that directly concern them, such as the approval of their work or of the accounts they prepared. Alongside this ban, Article 67 governs other subjective limits on representation, starting with the case of jointly owned units. Let us look at them in detail.

The ban on proxies to the administrator

The rule is clear: the administrator cannot receive proxies from owners to attend and vote at the meeting. The bar applies to any meeting, ordinary or extraordinary, and admits no contractual exceptions that would circumvent it. The reason is transparency and prevention of conflicts of interest: the administrator, in many resolutions, has a personal position to defend, and allowing them to collect the votes of absent owners would mean letting them steer the decisions that concern them, such as the assessment of their work, the renewal of the appointment or the approval of the accounts.

Why the ban protects the owners

The ban protects the autonomy of the meeting. The assembly is called to oversee the administrator's work, approve their accounts and decide on their mandate. If the administrator could appear with a bundle of proxies, that oversight would be hollowed out, because the overseen party would in effect vote for the overseers. By preventing proxies to the administrator, the law ensures that decisions on these matters remain in the owners' hands and that the debate at the meeting keeps a real function of scrutiny and direction.

Jointly owned units: a single representative

Article 67 also governs the case of a real estate unit belonging to several persons in joint ownership. In this case the co-owners are entitled to a single representative at the meeting, designated according to the joint-ownership rules referred to in Article 1106 of the Italian Civil Code. It is therefore not permitted for each co-owner to attend and vote separately for the same unit: the unit expresses a single vote through the designated representative. If the co-owners cannot agree on the designation, the joint-ownership rules apply to identify who takes part.

Usufruct and bare ownership

Another case of split rights concerns a unit subject to usufruct. As a general rule, the right to vote belongs to the usufructuary for matters of ordinary administration and simple enjoyment, while it belongs to the bare owner for decisions affecting the substance of the property or involving improvements and extraordinary maintenance works. In these cases too, each can be represented by written proxy, subject to the general limits of Article 67, and cannot delegate the administrator. Clarifying who is entitled to vote on each item avoids disputes over the quorum.

The limits that still apply to other proxy holders

Apart from the ban affecting the administrator, the proxy can be granted to another owner or to a third party, always in writing. The other limits of Article 67 remain in force: in condominiums with more than twenty owners the proxy holder cannot represent more than one-fifth of the owners and of the proportional value. The chair must therefore check two distinct points: that the proxy holder is not the administrator and that, once the threshold of twenty is passed, the one-fifth cap is not exceeded. Both checks must be noted in the minutes.

Checks to make at the opening of the meeting

• Check that no proxy is made out to the administrator.
• Verify that jointly owned units have a single representative.
• Identify who votes between usufructuary and bare owner for each item.
• Confirm the written form and validity of each proxy.
• Respect the one-fifth limit above twenty owners.
• Note proxies, representatives and the checks carried out in the minutes.

Keeping track of the bans and subjective limits, distinguishing usufructuaries from bare owners and handling jointly owned units is easier with an orderly register of owners. Management software links each unit to its title holders, flags inadmissible proxies and supports the chair in checking the quorums. AmministraPro offers these tools for managing the meeting and the register: you can learn more on the features page and assess the plans in the pricing section.