Who pays the cost of an extraordinary condominium meeting

Convening and running an extraordinary meeting entails costs that someone must bear. These are the actual convening expenses, such as notices by registered mail or certified email (PEC) and any room rental, and the manager's fee when the extraordinary activity falls outside the ordinary mandate. The general rule is that these costs, being common management expenses, are shared among owners according to the ownership thousandths (millesimi), unless the topic concerns only part of the building. The fee for the additional activity, instead, depends on what was agreed in the appointment and in the manager's quote.

The actual convening expenses

Every meeting generates material costs: sending notices by means that prove receipt, printing and mailing, any rental of premises if no suitable common space is available. These are the community's expenses, incurred in the common interest, and as such fall within condominium management. They are advanced by the condominium and shared among owners according to the ordinary criteria, usually the general thousandths. Nothing different from an ordinary meeting, except that an extraordinary one may recur several times a year.

• Notice expenses by registered mail, PEC or tracked delivery
• Printing and mailing of documentation
• Any rental of the room for the meeting
• Allocation by general thousandths save for a partial condominium

The manager's fee for extraordinary activity

The most delicate point is the fee. At appointment the manager must itemize their fee, distinguishing what is included in ordinary management from what constitutes additional activity. Convening and running extraordinary meetings may fall among the activities for which a separate fee is provided, if so agreed and made explicit in the quote. If instead the agreed fee is all-inclusive, the manager cannot demand extra for a single extraordinary meeting. The transparency of the initial quote is therefore decisive to avoid disputes.

The law requires the manager to itemize the fee analytically: a generic entry or the absence of any indication about the cost of extraordinary activities is a source of conflict. The condominium has the right to know in advance how much an additional meeting will cost, so as to knowingly assess whether to request it.

Meeting requested by owners: who pays

When the extraordinary meeting is requested by a qualified minority of owners under Article 66 of the implementing provisions, the costs still remain common expenses, because the meeting serves the community and not only the applicants. There is no rule charging the expenses only to those who requested the meeting. It is different if the condominium regulation contains specific provisions: in that case what is established applies, provided it does not conflict with mandatory rules. Absent particular clauses, the ordinary allocation by thousandths applies.

When costs fall on part of the building

If the extraordinary meeting concerns a part common to only some owners, such as a staircase or a roof serving a portion of the building, the related costs follow the logic of the partial condominium. In these cases the convening and management expenses connected to that topic may fall only on the owners concerned, according to the relevant tables. The distinction matters when the meeting mixes topics of general interest with topics of partial interest: the allocation should reflect the actual benefit to each group of owners.

Preventing disputes over the quote

Most disputes over the cost of extraordinary meetings arise from an unclear initial quote. To prevent them, the manager's quote should clearly distinguish ordinary from extraordinary entries, state whether and how much an additional meeting costs, and clarify the actual expenses charged to the condominium. An itemized quote approved at the meeting is the best defence against later disputes, because it documents what owners accepted.

• Quote with ordinary and extraordinary entries clearly distinguished
• Indication of the cost of any additional meetings
• Clarity on the actual expenses charged
• Approval of the itemized quote at the meeting

Keeping costs and allocations under control

Managing meeting expenses, distinguishing ordinary from extraordinary entries and allocating them correctly is easier with a management system that keeps quote, expenses and thousandths together. With AmministraPro the manager sets up the quote, records convening expenses and allocates them according to the correct tables, with clear statements for the meeting. The accounting and allocation features are described at /funzioni, while the plans can be viewed at /prezzi to choose the right solution.