Void Appointment Without an Itemised Fee Statement

On accepting the mandate and at each renewal, the manager must specify analytically, on penalty of nullity of the appointment, the amount due as a fee. Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code sets this rule. A single, undifferentiated figure is not enough: the manager must break down the items that make up the fee, so the meeting knows exactly what is included in the ordinary consideration and what may be billed separately. The absence of the analytical specification voids the appointment itself.

Why the law requires an itemised fee

The rule protects transparency in the relationship between manager and condominium. In the past it was common to state a lump-sum fee, only to present additional requests later for activities claimed not to be included. By requiring analytical specification, the law wants the meeting to resolve on the appointment knowing the full economic picture, with no later surprises. The condominium can thus compare quotes from several candidates on a consistent basis.

What the quote must contain

The fee must be broken down into its components. Usually the quote distinguishes between the ordinary activity included in the annual consideration and extraordinary services that, if requested, give rise to a further fee still to be stated in advance. Among the typical items:

• fee for ordinary annual management;
• any extraordinary services and the related calculation criteria;
• office, mailing and document reproduction costs, if charged;
• activities connected with extraordinary works, disputes or debt recovery, if paid separately;
• tax and social security charges applicable to the fee.

The aim is that, reading the quote, the owner understands how much they will pay for ordinary management and in which cases further amounts may be added.

The effects of nullity

If the appointment is made without the analytical fee statement, the appointment is void. The nullity can be raised and relied on by the owners. The practical consequences are delicate: a void appointment casts doubt on the manager's standing to represent the condominium and carry out management acts. For this reason, drafting the quote correctly is not a formality but the very basis of the relationship's validity. It is good practice to attach the analytical quote to the appointment minutes, so it stays on record.

Fee and renewal of the mandate

The specification duty also applies at renewal. Since the mandate lasts one year and is deemed renewed for a further year, a continuing manager must restate the analytical fee for the new period. A tacit renewal that does not address the financial question is not consistent with the legal provision: the manager has an interest in formalising, at every renewal, the updated quote, avoiding disputes over the validity of the continued mandate.

Activities not included and additional fees

Analytical specification does not prevent providing for fees for extraordinary activities, but it requires declaring them in advance. If an activity is not provided for in the quote, the manager cannot demand payment as if it were implied: instead, they must submit it to the meeting. The line between ordinary and extraordinary must therefore be drawn carefully from the start, to prevent a disputed service from being left uncovered or generating disputes over the fee.

Preparing clear quotes with software

Drafting an analytical quote, attaching it to the appointment minutes and restating it at each renewal is easier with tools that hold condominium data, fee items and documents together. AmministraPro helps prepare tidy quotes and keep them alongside the meeting minutes, reducing the risk of flawed appointments. The features are on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.