A Single Owner's Renewable Energy Systems

Article 1122-bis of the Italian Civil Code allows a single owner to install, serving his own residential unit, systems for producing energy from renewable sources on the flat roof, on any other suitable common surface and on the parts of his individual property. Meeting authorization is not required, but when the work requires modifications to the common parts the interested party must give notice to the condominium manager, indicating the content and method of execution. The meeting may prescribe alternative methods or impose precautions to protect stability, safety and decorum.

Where it can be installed

The rule indicates three possible spaces: the flat roof, any other suitable common surface and the parts of exclusive ownership of the interested owner. The system must serve the single unit: it is therefore an individual, not centralized, system that powers the apartment of the person who builds it. On the flat roof and common surfaces use is allowed within the limits of the equal right of the other owners, according to the logic of Article 1102.

Prior notice

When the installation involves modifications to the common parts, the owner must notify the manager of the specific content and the method of execution of the works. It is the same procedure provided for the other systems serving the individual. The notice enables the condominium to verify the impact of the work and coordinate it with collective needs, without turning into a power of veto: the individual's right stands firm within the limits of the law.

• The system must serve a single unit, not be a common system.
• Notify the manager when modifications to the common parts are needed.
• Respect the stability, safety and architectural decorum of the building.
• Allow access to private units where necessary for design and execution.

The meeting's prescriptions

The meeting, with the majority of Article 1136 fifth paragraph, may prescribe suitable alternative methods of execution or impose precautions to safeguard stability, safety or architectural decorum. It may also make execution conditional on the interested party providing a suitable guarantee for any damage. These are powers of regulation, not of absolute prohibition: they aim to reconcile the individual's initiative with the protection of the common property.

Allocating the use of the flat roof

If several owners intend to install their own systems, the meeting, at the request of the interested parties, allocates the use of the flat roof and other common surfaces, safeguarding the various forms of use provided for by the regulation or otherwise in place. This is an essential function: the flat roof is a limited resource and its occupation by one owner cannot cancel the others' possibility of using it. The allocation ensures fairness and order.

Access to private properties

The law provides that access to the individually owned units must be allowed where necessary for the design and execution of the works. This means that an owner cannot object on specious grounds to the passage of the technician or the cables when this is indispensable to building the system, without prejudice to the right to compensation for any inconvenience or damage.

The insurmountable limit of decorum

As for any work on the common parts, architectural decorum is an insurmountable limit. A system that appreciably disfigures the appearance of the facade or roof, altering the harmony of the building's lines, may be challenged even if it is among those facilitated by law. In imposing the precautions, the meeting may indicate less impactful placements or color solutions consistent with the building.

Managing owners' notices, meeting prescriptions and the map of use of common surfaces requires method and traceability. With AmministraPro the manager can log requests, record decisions on the use of the flat roof and keep the technical documentation of the systems in a single archive. Discover the features on the /funzioni page and the available plans on the /prezzi page.