Prior Enforcement of Defaulters: the Owner in Good Standing

An owner who has regularly paid their shares is protected by the benefit of prior enforcement of defaulters: before attacking their assets, the condominium's creditor must first seek satisfaction from defaulting owners. Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code establishes this. The creditor obtains the enforceable title against the condominium, but in the enforcement phase cannot enforce against the owner in good standing unless they have first acted against those who did not pay. The compliant owner can object by asserting this benefit.

The rule of Article 63

Article 63 of the implementing provisions sets out two connected protections. On one side, the manager must give creditors who request it the data of defaulting owners, so they can identify who has not paid. On the other, creditors cannot proceed against owners in good standing with payments except after having enforced against the other owners. This is the so-called benefit of prior enforcement, which shifts onto the creditor the burden of turning first to the defaulters.

Title against the condominium, orderly enforcement

The benefit does not prevent the creditor from obtaining the enforceable title: this is formed against the condominium as an entity, for example with a payment order. The prior-enforcement rule operates in the later phase, that of enforcement against individuals. The creditor must first attempt recovery from the defaulting owners, identified thanks to the data provided by the manager, and only if this attempt is fruitless may they turn to those in good standing, always pro rata.

• The creditor obtains the title against the condominium, not against the individual
• They must first enforce against the defaulters indicated by the manager
• Only then may they act against owners in good standing, within their share
• Individual liability remains proportional, never joint for the whole

How the owner in good standing asserts the benefit

If the creditor serves a payment demand or begins enforcement against an owner who has paid, that owner can object by pleading the prior enforcement of defaulters. In essence they dispute that the creditor is attacking them before having attempted recovery from those who did not pay. To assert the benefit it helps to have proof of one's payments and, where possible, evidence that defaulting owners exist who have not yet been enforced against. The objection must be raised within the terms and forms set by the Code of Civil Procedure.

The manager's role

The manager is the pivot of the mechanism. They must keep the accounts up to date so as to identify with certainty who is in default and who is in good standing, and must give the defaulters' data to creditors who request it. Transparent management of defaults is therefore also a protection for compliant owners, because it lets the creditor direct the action correctly and reduces the risk that the owner in good standing is attacked first.

Why everyone benefits from paying on time

The benefit of prior enforcement does not remove the liability of owners in good standing, it orders it. Where defaulters are unrecoverable, compliant owners may still be called pro rata once the attempt against defaulters is exhausted, subject to a right of recourse. This makes clear the common interest in management that prevents default and pursues it promptly, because debt left to accumulate ends up burdening the whole community.

• Keep the receipts for payment of your own shares
• Ask the manager for the up-to-date default situation
• Check that the manager gives creditors the defaulters' data
• Object promptly if attacked before the defaulters are enforced against

Accounts that distinguish defaulters from compliant owners

The effectiveness of the benefit depends on the manager's ability to document precisely who has paid and who has not. Software that keeps an exact record of collections, highlights default by individual owner, and produces up-to-date schedules lets the manager provide creditors with the correct data and protect owners in good standing. AmministraPro offers clear reporting of each owner's position: the default management tools are described on the /funzioni page, while the available plans are on the /prezzi page.