Automatic Gate in a Condominium: Maintenance and Sharing

The automatic gate that opens the condominium's vehicle entrance is a common part intended to serve vehicle access. Its maintenance, the motor's electricity consumption and the replacement of components such as boards, motors or remote controls are condominium expenses. The delicate point is the allocation criterion: if the gate serves all owners it is split by thousandths (millesimi), but when it benefits only those with garages, parking spaces or access to the parking area, the expense falls on the group that draws a benefit under Article 1123, third paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code.

The gate as a common part

Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code includes among common parts the entrances, gates and works intended for collective use. The driveway gate, with its automation, falls among these when it gives access to common spaces, such as the courtyard or the condominium parking area. The cost of operation and conservation is therefore a condominium expense, but it must be attributed based on who actually uses the vehicle entrance, not indistinctly if part of the owners do not need it.

Who actually uses the vehicle entrance

In many buildings the automatic gate serves access to the area used for parking vehicles: garages, uncovered parking spaces, underground parking. Owners without a parking space or a garage, who access only on foot through the pedestrian door, draw no benefit from the driveway gate. In this case the third paragraph of Article 1123 applies and the gate's maintenance and consumption expense falls only on the owners served by the vehicle entrance. Splitting by general thousandths would be unfair to those who do not use it.

Electricity consumption and maintenance

The automatic gate draws electricity each time the motor opens and closes; this share adds to the periodic maintenance of the automation. Ordinary maintenance includes lubrication, adjusting the limit switches, checking the safety photocells and sensitive edges, and replacing the backup batteries. Extraordinary maintenance concerns replacing the motor, the control unit or the gate itself. Both follow the benefit criterion: the group served by the vehicle entrance.

Automation safety

An automatic gate must be safe: the photocells, sensitive edges and anti-crushing devices must be kept efficient to prevent accidents to people and vehicles. Periodic checking of these devices is part of ordinary maintenance and a duty of care on the condominium. Neglecting the automation's safety exposes to liability in case of damage. The cost of these checks falls within the allocation among the owners served by the system.

Cost items and criteria

• Motor electricity: on the group served by the vehicle entrance.
• Ordinary maintenance: lubrication, limit switches, photocells, edges, backup batteries.
• Extraordinary maintenance: replacing motor, control unit, gate.
• Remote controls and radio boards: usually charged to the users served.
• Gate serving everyone (single common access): allocation by thousandths.

Gate as single common access

The opposite case exists: an automatic gate that is the only access to the entire condominium, used by all residents even just on foot, or that protects a common courtyard enjoyed by everyone. In this case the gate serves owners in general and the expense is split by ownership thousandths under the first paragraph of Article 1123. The choice of criterion therefore depends on the gate's concrete function in the building, to be verified case by case.

Assigning the expense to the right group

The difficulty is identifying the owners served by the vehicle entrance and applying the correct table to consumption and maintenance, distinguishing it from common pedestrian accesses. Management software lets you create an allocation subgroup with only garage and parking space holders and generate the installments without manual calculations. With AmministraPro you set the driveway gate table on the group served and produce a transparent report: the allocation features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.