Common Area Lighting: How to Split the Electricity Cost

Lighting of common areas is an ordinary expense that covers electricity for stairs, entrance halls, landings, courtyards, gardens and shared garages, plus maintenance of the fixtures. The general rule is allocation by ownership thousandths (millesimi) under Article 1123, first paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code. However, when lighting serves a specific portion of the building, such as a single stairwell, more specific criteria apply. Identifying the common part served is the first step toward a correct calculation.

Why lighting is a common part

Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code lists among common parts the systems intended for collective use and enjoyment, and lighting systems in shared areas fall within this category. The expense is therefore not discretionary: powering the stairwell or courtyard lights is necessary for the safety and use of shared parts. The cost has two components: the consumption share, tied to the kilowatt-hours actually drawn by the lighting points, and the fixed share of the common utility, which covers committed power and system charges even when consumption is low.

General rule: ownership thousandths

For lighting of parts serving the whole building, such as the entrance hall, common corridors, the courtyard or the garden, the criterion in the first paragraph of Article 1123 applies: each owner contributes in proportion to the value of their unit, expressed in ownership thousandths. This assumes that everyone draws a substantially uniform benefit from lighting the collective spaces, regardless of the floor they live on.

Stairwell lighting: which criterion

A debated point concerns stairwell lighting. Since the stairwell lighting system mainly serves those who climb the stairs to reach the floors, part of the case law and practice treats it like the stair expense, allocated under Article 1124: half based on unit value and half in proportion to the height of each floor above ground. Those on higher floors would use the lighting points along the climb more.

Another view regards stairwell light as a uniform common utility, to be split by thousandths like other common parts. Absent an unequivocal rule, the prudent choice is to check the condominium regulation: if it contains a specific table or a provision for lighting, that prevails. Otherwise, the owners' meeting can adopt a criterion with the required majority, provided it is consistent with the nature of the service.

Areas served by only some

If a lighting system serves only part of the building, for example the light of a secondary stairway used by a single group of apartments or the lighting of a garage shared by a few units, the third paragraph of Article 1123 applies: the expense falls exclusively on the owners who draw a benefit. In these cases a dedicated table or allocation subgroup is needed, so as not to charge everyone for a cost that benefits only a few.

Cost components

• Electricity consumption of common lighting points, measured by the condominium utility meter.
• Fixed share of the common utility, usually split by thousandths because it is independent of consumption.
• Replacement of bulbs, fixtures and motion sensors as ordinary maintenance.
• Work on the common electrical system, typically extraordinary, on the part served.
• Any upgrade to LED fixtures and timers, approved by the owners' meeting.

Reducing consumption in a traceable way

Switching to LED fixtures and installing presence sensors and timers in the stairs is a choice the owners' meeting can approve as an improvement of the existing system. The investment reduces the consumption share over time, but it should be assessed on the real savings documented by the bills, not on generic percentages. Keeping a history of monthly consumption helps demonstrate the benefit and set a credible budget for the following year.

Keeping the accounts in order

In the financial report, common area lighting should be recorded in a dedicated account, so as to distinguish it from other utilities and apply the correct table to each item. Management software avoids the most common mistakes, such as charging the light of a secondary stairway to all owners or confusing consumption and fixed share. With AmministraPro you assign each expense to the common part served and generate the installments with the right criterion automatically: the accounting and allocation features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.