Co-owners in Disagreement: Who Votes for the Shared Unit

When a unit belongs in undivided ownership to several people, they are entitled to a single representative at the condominium meeting. This is set by Article 67 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code. The representative is designated by the co-owners concerned and, if they cannot reach agreement, is appointed by the court upon the request of even one of them. The rule ensures that each unit expresses a single, coherent vote, preventing a single co-ownership share from multiplying into as many voices as there are owners.

One unit, one vote

The single-vote principle is explained by the structure of the condominium: the right to attend the meeting is tied to the unit and its thousandths (millesimi), not to the number of people who own it. If an apartment with one hundred thousandths belongs to three siblings, those one hundred thousandths stay one hundred and are expressed by a single vote, not by three votes of one hundred each. A single representative therefore sits at the meeting, carrying the position of the co-ownership as a whole.

Designation by agreement

The ordinary route is agreement among the co-owners. They indicate who among them, or even a third party, will attend and vote for that unit. The designation may be general, valid for all meetings, or limited to a single session. It is good practice for the representative to appear with a written designation, so that the manager can check standing and record it in the minutes. In the absence of indications, the manager must prudently establish who has title to vote.

Disagreement among co-owners

The problem arises when the co-owners cannot agree on the representative's name. In this case Article 67 expressly provides that the court makes the appointment, upon application by even one of the co-owners. The judge designates the person who will exercise the voting right, breaking the deadlock. Neither the manager nor the meeting may substitute themselves for the parties in the choice: resolving the conflict is entrusted to the judge, who guarantees impartiality.

What the manager does in a deadlock

Faced with co-owners in disagreement who appear at the meeting, the manager must handle the situation with balance. Some practical pointers:

• Do not admit multiple voting: the unit expresses a single vote, never as many votes as there are co-owners present
• Check whether a valid written designation exists before attributing the vote
• If agreement and designation are missing, note in the minutes that the unit is not represented by a clearly authorised person
• Invite the co-owners to designate the representative by agreement or, failing that, to apply to the court

Attributing the vote incorrectly, or counting more than one vote for the same unit, can affect the validity of the resolution if that vote was decisive for the quorum.

Effects on quorum calculation

If the jointly owned unit is not validly represented, its thousandths do not contribute to forming the favourable majority nor are they counted among the votes cast. The manager must take this into account in calculating the constitutive and deliberative quorums set by Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code. An error at this stage, such as counting the vote of a co-owner without designation against the others' will, exposes the resolution to challenge under Article 1137.

Joint ownership and proxy

The representative designated by the co-owners may in turn be represented at a single meeting by written proxy, within the quantitative limits set by Article 67 of the implementing provisions. The proxy does not change the single-vote rule: the delegate too will carry a single vote for the jointly owned unit. It is best that the document clearly shows the chain of authority, from the co-ownership to the designation and any proxy, to leave no doubt about the title of the person voting.

Correctly recording joint ownerships, designated representatives and proxies is indispensable for calculating reliable quorums. A management system such as AmministraPro lets you associate each unit with its co-owners, indicate the representative and store designations, so you arrive at the meeting with standing already verified. The features are on the funzioni page and the plans on the prezzi page.