Communicating Arrears to Owners Without Breaching Privacy

The manager must inform owners about the state of arrears, because the debts of some affect the financial balance of all, but must do so while respecting the protection of personal data. The balance is clear: the payment situation should be brought to the attention of the meeting and of owners in the appropriate settings, such as the annual statement and the meeting itself, while the public display of names in spaces accessible to anyone, such as courtyard notice boards or entrance halls, must be avoided.

Why arrears must be communicated

An owner's arrears are not a private matter between them and the manager, because they affect the common cash position and may force others to cover expenses temporarily. Owners in good standing have a legitimate interest in knowing the overall amount of unpaid receivables and the actions taken to recover them. Moreover, the manager is required to act to collect receivables within a period from the close of the financial year, and the meeting must be able to assess how this task is carried out.

The right setting: meeting and statement

The natural place to inform about debtors is the owners' meeting, where owners discuss management behind closed doors among entitled parties. The annual statement and the balance-sheet position also account for receivables from owners. In these contexts, indicating names and amounts is consistent with the purpose of management and with owners' right to know the state of the common cash position.

What to avoid: public display

The Italian Data Protection Authority has repeatedly criticised the posting of the list of debtors in condominium spaces accessible to outsiders. Economic default is personal information whose indiscriminate dissemination is not necessary for management.

• Do not post debtors' names on notice boards or in entrance halls accessible to anyone.
• Do not send communications about an owner's arrears to parties with no entitlement.
• Do not include the named list of debtors in open messaging groups not restricted to owners.
• Communicate debtors' data to the condominium's creditors only to the extent necessary to protect their rights.

Communication to the condominium's creditors

Creditors who have not been paid may act against defaulting owners, and for this purpose the manager is required to communicate the data of owners in good standing and of those in default. This communication is lawful because it serves to enforce a claim, but it must be limited to the necessary data and must not become a broader dissemination than required. It is an example of processing based on a specific legal basis.

The legal basis for processing

The processing of arrears data is grounded in the performance of the management relationship and in the condominium's legitimate interest in protecting the common financial balance, within the framework of EU Regulation 2016/679. As with any processing, the principles of minimisation and purpose apply: only the necessary data are communicated, only to the persons entitled, and only for the purpose for which they are collected.

A practical method for the manager

In practice, it is advisable to keep the payment situation up to date, present it at the meeting with amounts and names to owners only, document the reminders sent and, where necessary, proceed with the recovery tools provided by law, including the payment order. Confidentiality towards the outside and transparency towards the inside are not in contradiction: they are two sides of the same correct processing.

Managing arrears and communications securely

Monitoring payments and communicating arrears through the right channels is easier with tools that distinguish recipients and track reminders. AmministraPro lets you follow instalments and unpaid amounts, generate the position for the meeting and send confidential communications to the owners concerned only, reducing the risk of improper exposure. The features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.