The difference between co-ownership and condominium in Italian law

The difference between co-ownership (comunione) and condominium is one of those distinctions that seem theoretical until they produce concrete effects on expenses, decisions and majorities. The two institutions look alike because in both cases several people share title to an asset, but the Italian Civil Code governs them in two different sections with rules that only partly overlap. A condominium is technically a particular form of co-ownership, yet the special features that characterise it are significant enough to make it a separate institution.

The two sets of rules in the Civil Code

Co-ownership is governed by articles 1100 to 1116 of the Civil Code. The condominium in buildings is governed by articles 1117 to 1139. When a condominium situation is not covered by a specific rule, the co-ownership rules apply on a residual basis, insofar as they are compatible. Co-ownership therefore acts as the general regime and the condominium as the special one.

The difference between co-ownership and condominium by object

Co-ownership can concern any asset, movable or immovable: a car, a plot of land, a boat, a property left undivided among heirs. A condominium, on the other hand, presupposes a building in which exclusively owned units coexist with common parts serving those units. Without distinct exclusive properties and accessory common parts there is no condominium, but at most a co-ownership over the whole building.

The calculation of shares

In co-ownership the shares are presumed equal, unless the title provides otherwise: two co-owners each hold fifty per cent, four hold twenty-five. In a condominium, the right of each owner over the common parts is instead proportional to the value of their unit, expressed in thousandths in the millesimal tables. Condominium shares are almost never equal, because they reflect the different size of the apartments.

Use and purpose of the assets

In co-ownership each participant may use the common asset provided they do not alter its purpose or prevent the others from making equal use of it. In a condominium the use of the common parts, such as stairs, roof or courtyard, serves the individual exclusive properties and is in principle independent of the millesimal share: no owner may take exclusive possession of a common part intended to serve everyone.

Administration and decisions

The organisation also differs. Co-ownership is administered under articles 1105 and 1108, mostly by a majority of shares, and does not require a mandatory administrator. A condominium has its own bodies: the meeting, which resolves with the majorities of article 1136, and the administrator, whose appointment becomes mandatory above a certain number of participants. The condominium structure is therefore more formalised than that of co-ownership.

Divisibility

This is the most practical difference. In co-ownership each participant may at any time request dissolution and division, subject to temporary agreements not to divide, under article 1111. In a condominium the common parts necessary for the existence and use of the building, such as the foundations, load-bearing walls, roof and stairs, are in principle indivisible: co-ownership of them cannot be dissolved while they serve the units. An apartment owner cannot demand the division of the roof.

The condominium is a species of the genus co-ownership, but its special rules prevail over the general ones.

A practical example

Two siblings inherit an undivided house: they are in co-ownership, with shares presumed equal, and each may request division. If instead a building is split into six apartments owned by different people, with stairs, roof and courtyard in common, this is a condominium: the shares in the common assets follow the thousandths and no one can demand the division of the stairs. The same property, depending on how it is divided and used, falls under one regime or the other, with direct consequences for expenses and decisions. This is not a mere naming question: the correct qualification determines the majorities needed to resolve, the criteria for allocating costs and the very possibility of leaving the joint ownership by requesting division. Confusing the two institutions leads to applying the wrong rules and to resolutions that can be challenged.

When co-ownership becomes a condominium

The shift from co-ownership to condominium does not require any special formality: it happens automatically when, through sales or divisions, a building comes to have at least two exclusive properties with common parts serving them. From that moment articles 1117 and following apply, with the meeting, the millesimal tables and, once the statutory threshold is passed, the obligation to appoint an administrator.

Why the distinction matters in management

Understanding whether you are dealing with a co-ownership or a condominium determines which majorities are needed, how expenses are allocated, whether an administrator is required and whether division can be requested. Management software designed for condominiums applies the right rules: millesimal tables, meeting majorities, proportional allocations. AmministraPro manages the condominium under articles 1117 and following, with millesimal tables, notices and automatic allocations: you can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.