Tenant's Vote on Heating and Air Conditioning

The tenant of a rented apartment has a genuine right to vote at the owners' meeting, but only on specific matters: resolutions concerning the expenses and management of the heating and air-conditioning services. This is established by Article 10 of Law 392/1978. On these decisions the tenant votes in place of the owner, because it is they who bear the ordinary costs and enjoy the use. On other common services they may attend the meeting but without the right to vote, merely taking part in the discussion.

What Article 10 of Law 392/1978 Provides

The provision, part of the rental regulations, grants the tenant the right to vote, in place of the owner of the leased property, in the owners' meeting resolutions concerning the expenses and management of the heating and air-conditioning services. The same provision gives them the right to intervene, without the right to vote, in resolutions concerning the modification of the other common services. The rationale is clear: whoever pays for the fuel and uses the system must be able to decide how it is managed and how much is spent.

When the Tenant Votes in Place of the Owner

The tenant's vote replaces the owner's on the matters identified by law. In those meetings, or on those agenda items, it is the tenant who expresses the will tied to that unit, and the owner is excluded from voting on that topic. This scope typically includes:

• Approval of the budget and final statement for the heating service
• Choice of how to run the central heating system
• Resolutions on the management of the common air-conditioning system
• Decisions on the ordinary operating expenses of these services

When the Tenant Intervenes Without Voting

For resolutions concerning the modification of the other common services, the tenant has the right to attend and intervene in the discussion, but not to vote. They may therefore express observations, ask for clarifications and have their position recorded in the minutes, without affecting the count of majorities. The right to vote on matters other than heating and air conditioning remains with the owner, who takes part in person or by proxy.

Convening and Informing the Tenant

For the tenant to exercise these rights, they must be put in a position to know about the meetings dealing with the matters within their competence. In practice the owner informs the tenant of the meetings concerning heating and air conditioning, or delegates the communication to the manager. Good organisation provides that the agenda indicate the items on which the tenant may vote, so as to avoid confusion over majorities and disputes over the validity of the resolution.

Effects on Majorities and Minutes

When the tenant votes, their vote must be counted with the thousandths (millesimi) of the leased unit, exactly as if the owner were voting. It is essential that the minutes distinguish the items on which the tenant voted from those decided by the owner, so as not to create defects. A frequent error is to let the owner vote on matters that fall to the tenant, or vice versa: a resolution adopted with the vote of the wrong person may be challenged.

Orderly Management of Meetings With Rented Units

Tracking which units are rented, who the tenant is and which items they vote on is a complexity that grows with the number of rented apartments. Management software such as AmministraPro lets you record tenants, associate them with units and set up the agenda flagging the items on which the tenant votes, with consistent minutes and a correct count of majorities. The features for managing meetings are on the /funzioni page and the plans on /prezzi.