Errors in millesimi tables: rectification and revision

When a thousandths (millesimi) table contains an error, one or more owners pay a share that does not reflect the real value of their unit. Article 69 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code sets out two distinct routes to correct it: rectification for error and revision for changed conditions of the building. In both cases, after the 2012 reform, an owners' meeting majority is enough and the consent of everyone is no longer required. Understanding which case applies is the first step toward acting correctly.

What Article 69 of the implementing provisions says

The rule states that the proportional values of individual units, expressed in thousandths, may be rectified or modified unanimously. It then introduces two exceptions in which the majority under Article 1136, second paragraph, of the Civil Code is sufficient, meaning a majority of those present representing at least half of the value of the building. These two exceptions drive every correction in practice: error, and a change greater than one fifth of the value of even a single unit.

Rectification for error

Rectification applies where the table was wrong from the outset. The relevant error is an objective, verifiable one that affected the determination of the proportional value: for example a surface measured incorrectly, a coefficient applied by mistake, a room not counted or counted twice. A mere feeling that the split is unfair is not enough: there must be a flaw in how the figure was formed, not a change of mind about discretionary technical assessments.

The error can also be raised in the interest of a single owner. This means the penalized owner can ask the administrator to put the item on the agenda and, if the meeting does not approve, apply to the court to obtain the rectification.

Revision for changed conditions

The second case is revision due to changed conditions of part of the building. This covers vertical extension, an increase of surfaces, or an increase or decrease in the number of units, provided the alteration of a single unit's proportional value exceeds one fifth. If an owner merges two flats, adds a floor or splits a unit, and this produces a shift of more than one fifth of someone's value, the table can be updated by majority.

• Vertical extension of a new floor or upward enlargement.
• Increase in the surfaces of one or more units.
• Increase in the number of units through subdivision.
• Decrease in units through merging.
• Threshold: alteration greater than one fifth of the value of even a single unit.

Rectification and revision are not the same thing

The distinction is practical, not just terminological. Rectification corrects data that was born wrong; revision adjusts a correct table to a building that has changed over time. In both cases a qualified majority is sufficient, but the resolution must clearly state the ground: an established error, or a physical change that exceeds the one fifth threshold. A generic resolution that rewrites the thousandths without reasons risks being challenged.

The status of tables according to the Supreme Court

The Joint Chambers of the Court of Cassation, in judgment no. 18477 of 9 August 2010, clarified that millesimi tables do not have a contractual nature, even when attached to the regulation referred to in purchase deeds. The tables measure values and allocate expenses; they do not grant real property rights. For this reason their approval and modification follow the rules for meeting resolutions and do not require everyone's consent. This principle overturned the stricter view that demanded unanimity for any intervention.

What to do in practice

If an owner reports a possible error, the administrator gathers the supporting technical documentation, usually a report from the professional who drafted or reviewed the tables, and brings the item to the meeting. If instead a physical change of the building has occurred, the one fifth threshold is checked before proposing revision. The resolution must cite the specific ground and attach the new values. Until approval or a court decision, the existing tables remain in force and expenses are split on them.

Handling tables, coefficients and recalculations by hand is the main source of slips. With AmministraPro the administrator keeps thousandths linked to individual units and immediately sees the effect of each change on the split, reducing the risk of errors when the data is formed. The accounting and table features are described on the /funzioni page, while the plans and their limits are on /prezzi.