Communications from the Manager to the Tenant

The condominium manager communicates with the owner of the unit, not with the tenant. The condominium relationship binds the manager to the owners, that is, the holders of the property right, while the tenant is a stranger to management. There are, however, precise exceptions: when the law grants the tenant the right to vote on heating and air conditioning services, he must be summoned and informed like anyone taking part in the decision. Outside these cases, the counterpart remains the owner.

The general rule

Meeting notices, allocation statements, payment reminders and management communications are addressed to the owners. It is they who take part in decisions, vote and answer for the costs. The tenant does not receive the ordinary notice, does not vote on general matters and is not the recipient of condominium reminders, because he is not obligated to the condominium. This setup flows from the very nature of the condominium, which is a community of owners.

This does not prevent the owner, in his own interest, from passing on to the tenant useful information about the life of the building, such as planned works, changes to services or rules of use. But this is a step internal to the lease, not a duty of the manager.

When the tenant must be summoned

Article 10 of Law 392 of 1978 grants the tenant the right to vote, in place of the owner, in resolutions of the meeting concerning the costs and management of heating and air conditioning services. In resolutions concerning changes to the other common services, the tenant is entitled to attend without voting. In these cases the notice must reach the tenant, who becomes a legitimate participant in the meeting for those matters.

These are cases where communicating with the tenant is not a courtesy but a requirement: if it is missing, the resolution on those specific matters may be flawed for lack of notice to the holder of the voting right.

What to communicate to the tenant

In matters where the tenant votes or attends, the manager sends him the same elements the owner would receive:

• Meeting notice with the agenda relating to the services concerned
• Estimates and allocation criteria for heating or air conditioning costs
• Minutes of the decisions taken on those matters
• Communications on interruptions or changes to the metered service

For everything else, payment notices and allocations remain addressed to the owner, who then passes accessory charges to the tenant within the internal lease relationship.

The condominium roster as the basis for communications

To summon the tenant correctly when he has the right to vote, the manager must know his details. Article 1130 number 6 of the Civil Code requires keeping the condominium roster, which also records the identity of holders of personal rights of enjoyment. The owner must report changes concerning the occupation of the property. Without an up to date roster, the manager cannot reach the tenant in the cases where he is required to.

Form of communications and proof of delivery

Notices require a form that proves receipt, such as registered mail, certified email or hand delivery with signature. This also applies to notices to the tenant in the matters where he votes. Keeping proof of dispatch is essential, because if the resolution is challenged it must be shown that all those entitled were duly notified within the required time.

Managing recipients without errors

Distinguishing owners from tenants, knowing who must be summoned for which matters and keeping proof of dispatch is work that rewards order. A platform like AmministraPro keeps roles separate in the roster, selects the correct recipients for each agenda and archives receipts and minutes, so communications to tenants in heating and air conditioning cases go to the right people: the features are on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.