Cost split departing from the thousandths tables: voidable

If the owners' meeting splits an expense in a way that departs from the thousandths (millesimi) tables or the statutory criteria, but without changing those criteria, the resolution is voidable and not void. The distinction is decisive: voidability must be raised within thirty days under Article 1137, while nullity has no time limit. Case law places among voidable resolutions those that breach the cost-sharing criteria already established, reserving nullity for cases where the criteria are changed without everyone's consent.

The difference between misapplying and changing the criteria

The starting point is Article 1123 of the Italian Civil Code, which sets the statutory cost-sharing criteria: in proportion to the value of each property, unless otherwise agreed, and according to use when common items serve owners to a different extent. Alongside these are the contractual criteria in the regulation and the thousandths tables. Applying these criteria wrongly in practice, for instance charging an owner more than their table provides, is different from changing the rule.

When the meeting merely makes a calculation error or, in a single case, sets aside the table in force, it affects the implementation of the criterion, not the criterion itself. When instead it decides to adopt a different split on a stable basis, replacing the existing rule, it touches the very structure of the cost sharing. Hence the different classification of the defect.

Why a departing split is voidable

A resolution that splits an expense in breach of the existing criteria, without changing them, is affected by a defect of legitimacy that falls within voidability. It is not an impossible or unlawful subject matter, nor a matter outside the meeting's powers, but a decision contrary to the law or the regulation in the way it is implemented. As such it can be challenged within the strict thirty-day deadline by owners who were absent, dissenting or abstaining.

• Error in applying the thousandths to a specific expense
• Use of the general table where a specific use-based table should apply
• Charging an owner shares not owed on the basis of their property
• Failure to apply the exemption due for a partial condominium

When the resolution is instead void

A resolution that changes the cost-sharing criteria set by law or by agreement without the unanimous consent of the owners is void, and can therefore be challenged at any time by anyone with an interest. Introducing a new sharing rule, different from the statutory or contractual one, requires unanimity because it affects the individual owners' financial rights. The same fate befalls resolutions that impose on some owners costs they should not bear by law.

The dividing line therefore runs between the poor application of a valid rule, which produces voidability, and the replacement of the rule, which produces nullity. Getting this classification wrong can cost the outcome of the case, because for voidability the thirty-day deadline is mandatory.

How to react to a wrong split

An owner who receives a charge that departs from their table must act quickly. It is best first to ask the manager to check the calculation and, if the error is not corrected, to consider a challenge within thirty days. Before bringing a condominium dispute to court an attempt at mediation is mandatory. In the meantime the owner is still required to pay what is due under the correct criteria, and may not unilaterally reduce their own share.

Preventing the error at the accounting stage

Many disputes arise from a simple error in applying the table. Keeping the general and use-based thousandths tables aligned, correctly linking each type of expense to the relevant table, and documenting the calculation drastically reduces the risk. Transparent calculation, showing the sharing basis line by line, also puts the manager in a position to defend the resolution if it is challenged.

AmministraPro lets you manage multiple thousandths tables, link each expense category to the correct sharing criterion, and generate the split with a per-owner breakdown, so that any discrepancies show up immediately. The accounting and cost-sharing features are described on the /funzioni page, while the plans can be viewed on the /prezzi page.