Resolutions Affecting an Owner's Exclusive Property

The condominium meeting has broad powers over the common parts, but it cannot dispose of individuals' exclusive property. When a resolution seeks to affect an apartment, a shop or another portion of individual property by imposing obligations, use limits or burdens, the consent of the affected owner is required. Without that consent the decision exceeds the meeting's competence and is invalid. Understanding this boundary avoids resolutions destined to fall and disputes that are often avoidable.

The scope of the meeting's powers

Article 1135 of the Italian Civil Code lists the meeting's functions: appointing the manager, approving the budget and the final accounts, deciding on maintenance works. These are powers to manage and organise the common property. Nothing in these functions authorises the meeting to govern exclusively owned assets, which remain fully at the disposal of the respective owner. The majority binds owners as regards the common parts, not as regards what belongs to the individual.

Examples of intrusive resolutions

There are many cases in which a meeting, with the best intentions, oversteps its powers. Some recurring examples:

• Generally prohibiting a lawful use of a unit, absent a provision in the contractual regulations
• Requiring an owner to carry out works inside their exclusive property
• Resolving the use of a private portion for the benefit of the community without the owner's consent
• Granting others the use of spaces belonging exclusively to a single owner
• Effectively creating burdens or easements over individually owned assets

In all these cases the decision does not concern managing the common parts, but the content of the individual's property right. This is where the need for their consent arises.

The role of the contractual regulations

Some limits on exclusive property may derive not from a resolution, but from regulations of a contractual nature, accepted by all owners and recorded or referred to in the purchase deeds. Contractual regulations may contain use prohibitions for individual units, provided they are clear and specific. What the regulations can provide by everyone's agreement, however, cannot be introduced later by the majority alone: a change worsening individuals' rights requires the consent of the person who bears it.

Consent: how and when to collect it

When a decision useful to the community involves exclusive property, for example running a common pipe through a private room, the correct route is to obtain the owner's express consent, best documented in writing and recorded in the minutes. Consent may be given at the meeting, with the favourable vote of the affected owner, or by a separate declaration. What matters is that it appears unequivocally: silence does not amount to acceptance when a real right is at stake.

Nullity or voidability: the distinction that matters

Resolutions affecting owners' individual rights relating to exclusive property, adopted without the necessary consent, are considered null under the settled case law. Nullity is more serious than voidability: it can be raised by anyone with an interest and is not subject to the thirty-day period set for challenging voidable resolutions under Article 1137 of the Italian Civil Code. Mere procedural irregularities instead give rise to voidability, with a strict forfeiture deadline. Correctly identifying the category of the defect is essential to choosing the remedy and the timing.

What the affected owner can do

The owner who suffers a resolution intruding on their exclusive property can challenge it in court. If the defect is nullity, they are not bound by the thirty-day period; if it is voidability, they must act promptly. It is nonetheless prudent to have their dissent and reasons recorded in the minutes, so as to document their position. Even before litigation, a clarification at the meeting on the limits of decision-making powers often prevents the decision from being adopted improperly.

Distinguishing at the notice stage what is management of the common parts from what touches private assets is the best way to build solid resolutions. A management system such as AmministraPro lets you prepare precise agendas, record consents and store supporting documents, reducing the risk of invalid decisions. The features are on the funzioni page and the plans on the prezzi page.