Tenant Proxy at the Condominium Owners' Meeting

A tenant votes at the meeting in his own name only on the costs and management of heating and air conditioning services. For all other matters he has no independent right to vote, but he can attend and vote as the owner's representative, if the owner grants him a written proxy. In that case the tenant acts not as tenant, but as the owner's proxy, with the same powers and the same limits provided for any proxy holder.

The tenant's own vote

Article 10 of Law 392 of 1978 grants the tenant the right to vote, in place of the owner, in resolutions concerning the costs and management of heating and air conditioning services. In these matters the tenant votes by right, because it is he who uses the service and bears the related accessory charges. On resolutions that change the other common services he is entitled to attend, but without voting. Beyond this scope, the tenant does not decide on the life of the condominium.

When the owner's proxy is needed

If an owner cannot or does not wish to attend the meeting, he may be represented by a third party, and nothing prevents that third party from being his tenant. In this case the tenant does not exercise a right of his own: he expresses the will of the owner who delegated him. The proxy must be granted in writing, as required by Article 67 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code, and must be handed to the chair of the meeting or the manager before the meeting starts.

The proxy may be general for the whole meeting or limited to specific agenda items. It is good practice to state clearly the scope and the date of the meeting it refers to.

The limits of Article 67

Proxies meet limits designed to prevent one person from concentrating too much power at the meeting. In particular:

• The proxy must be in writing
• In condominiums with more than twenty owners, a single proxy holder cannot represent more than one fifth of the owners and of the proportional value
• The manager cannot receive proxies to attend the meeting
• Whoever grants a proxy answers for the choice of his representative

These constraints also apply when the proxy holder is the tenant. The tenant acting as proxy counts as the owner's representative and is included in the one-fifth limit, where applicable.

Proxy for the tenant's own vote on heating

Even the tenant who votes in his own name on heating and air conditioning matters may, in turn, be represented if he cannot attend. The same principle applies: representation requires a written proxy and respects the general limits. In this way the voting right recognised by law is not lost through a mere absence, but can be exercised through a proxy holder.

Conflicts between owner and tenant

It may happen that, on heating and air conditioning matters, owner and tenant disagree. The law resolves the point by granting the vote to the tenant, because it is he who benefits from the service. The owner cannot vote in the tenant's place on those specific matters. On the others, instead, the owner decides, and the tenant can influence the outcome only if he receives a proxy. Distinguishing the two spheres precisely avoids disputes on the validity of the resolution.

Managing proxies and attendance in order

Checking proxies is one of the most delicate moments of the meeting: verifying the written form, compliance with the one-fifth limit and the match between principal and thousandths requires care. A platform like AmministraPro allows proxies and attendance to be recorded, quorums to be calculated and the matters where the tenant votes to be distinguished, so verifying powers becomes fast and traceable: the features are on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.