Condominium Systems up to the Branch Point: Where Common Ends

Water, sewage, gas, heating and energy distribution systems are common parts of the building under Article 1117, no. 3, of the Italian Civil Code, but only up to the branch point toward the exclusively owned premises. The section entering the individual unit belongs to the owner, who owns it and is responsible for it. The rule also indicates a further scenario: in unitary systems common ownership reaches the utility point, save for what is provided by sector regulations on public networks.

The rule of Article 1117 no. 3

The text of the article, in the wording introduced by the condominium reform, presumes common the works, installations and manufactured items of any kind intended for common use, such as systems for water, gas, electricity, heating and the like, up to the branch point of the systems to the individually owned premises of the single owners, or, in the case of unitary systems, up to the utility point. The legislator thus set a clear boundary: where the system branches off to serve the individual unit, common ownership ceases.

This boundary applies both to ownership and to costs. The common section is conserved and repaired at everyone's expense; the section inside the exclusive property is at the individual's expense.

Risers and branches

The riser, meaning the vertical pipe running through the building and distributing water or conveying drainage, is typically common. From the riser the horizontal branches split off to reach the individual apartments: it is precisely at the split point that the boundary passes. Case law has clarified, for example, that the connecting element between the horizontal pipe of the individual apartment and the condominium vertical riser, the so-called drainage fitting, is to be considered the exclusive property of the served owner, who is responsible for it.

• Water or drainage riser serving several units: common part
• Horizontal branch entering the individual apartment: exclusive property of the owner
• Connecting fitting between the individual pipe and the vertical riser: exclusive property according to case law
• Individual meter and the section downstream of it: at the owner's expense

Precisely identifying the branch point is therefore decisive in attributing a leak, a blockage or a fault to the common or private sphere.

Unitary systems and the utility point

For unitary systems, meaning those serving the building as an indivisible complex, the rule shifts the boundary to the utility point. This is the case, for example, of networks where there is no clear per-unit branch section, but a point where the individual's utility connects to the common network. The special rules laid down for public networks remain firm, such as those for water or gas managed by distributors, which follow their own regimes on the responsibility boundary.

Who pays for repairs

Allocation follows ownership. Costs on common sections are divided on the basis of thousandths, or according to the usage table when the system serves owners to different extents, under Article 1123 of the Civil Code. Repairs on exclusively owned sections, including branches and internal fittings, are at the individual owner's expense. In case of infiltration or flooding, establishing which section the leak comes from determines who must pay for the damage.

When the leak originates from a common section, the condominium is liable; when it originates from the private branch, the owner is liable. This is why it is useful to have the source of the fault technically ascertained before charging the cost.

Documenting systems and works

Keeping a map of the common systems, the logbooks and the works helps to quickly resolve disputes over the responsibility boundary. With software like AmministraPro the administrator archives diagrams, minutes and maintenance invoices digitally, linking them to the condominium and the correct table for allocating systems costs. The features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans, with transparent costs, on the /prezzi page.