Notice of Meeting: the Five-Day Deadline Explained

The notice convening a condominium owners' meeting must reach each entitled party at least five days before the date set for the first calling. This is established by Article 66 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code. The deadline is designed to give every owner a minimum window to review the agenda, gather documents and arrange attendance or a proxy. Failing to respect it exposes the resolution to the risk of annulment if challenged.

What Article 66 of the implementing provisions says

The rule requires the notice to contain a specific indication of the agenda and to be communicated at least five days before the date set for the first calling. This is a minimum term that cannot be shortened: the condominium regulation may provide for a longer notice period to protect owners, but never less than five days. The purpose is to ensure that the meeting is fully knowable and that consent is formed freely.

How the five days are counted

The deadline is calculated backwards from the meeting date, and what matters is the moment the notice enters the recipient's sphere of knowledge, not the date it was sent. For paper registered mail, the relevant date is delivery or the attempted delivery with a notice of storage; for certified electronic mail (PEC) it is the date of the delivery receipt. There must therefore be at least five clear days between receipt and the meeting day.

A concrete example helps. If the meeting is set for the 20th of the month, the notice must be received by the 14th, so that the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th form the full notice period. Sending a registered letter on the 17th and hoping it arrives in time is not enough: if delivery occurs on the 18th, the five-day deadline is not met.

Receipt, not dispatch: the practical rule

The distinction between dispatch and receipt is the most frequent source of disputes. A prudent administrator organizes well in advance, chooses means that provide firm proof of the delivery date, and keeps the receipts for each individual owner. In the case of postal storage, the deadline runs from the moment the recipient could have collected the item using ordinary diligence.

• Schedule the mailing with at least seven or eight days of margin to absorb postal times.
• Verify the actual delivery date for each recipient, not just the sending date.
• Keep return receipts and PEC receipts as proof that the deadline was respected.
• Keep the condominium register updated with correct contact details to avoid failed deliveries.

What happens if the deadline is missed

Failing to respect the minimum notice period is a defect in the convocation procedure. According to settled case law, defects relating to the regularity of the convocation make the resolution voidable, not null. This means the resolution still produces effects until challenged, but it can be annulled by the court if an absent or dissenting owner acts within the thirty-day term provided by Article 1137 of the Italian Civil Code.

An owner who nonetheless attended the meeting without raising objections will find it hard to later complain of the defect, because presence cures the irregularity as far as that owner is concerned. The concrete risk mainly concerns those who were prevented from attending because of the late notice.

First and second calling

The five-day deadline refers to the first calling. The second calling may be indicated in the same notice, provided it is set on a day different from the first and in any case no later than ten days after it. The practice of holding the second calling a few hours after the first on the same day is not allowed: the law requires a later day, so as to give owners a genuine second opportunity to attend.

Managing deadlines without errors

Keeping track of sending dates, delivery dates and documentary proof for dozens of units is delicate work, where a single owner reached late can undermine the entire meeting. With AmministraPro, sending notices by PEC and registered mail is tracked with receipts for each owner, and the calculation of the notice period is supported by the system. The features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans with their sending limits are shown on the /prezzi page.