Accessibility Works at the Single Owner's Expense

The owner with a disability is not held hostage by meeting decisions. If the meeting refuses to remove architectural barriers or does not resolve within three months of a written request, they may carry out the works at their own expense under Article 2 of Law 13/1989, within the limits of Articles 1120 and 1121 of the Italian Civil Code. This is an autonomous right arising from the law to guarantee accessibility even in the face of the other owners' inaction.

The written request and the three-month term

The starting point is a written request to the manager or the meeting, by which the owner asks for the barrier-removal work. From that moment the three-month term begins: if the meeting votes against or does not decide, the interested person is entitled to proceed alone, bearing the costs. The written request is essential because it fixes the date from which the count starts and documents the owner's good faith.

It is good practice to state in the request the work intended, attach a project or technical outline and ask for the item to be placed on the agenda of the first available meeting. This puts the meeting in a position to decide knowingly.

Which works the individual may carry out

The law speaks of works and structures, including mobile ones, suitable for overcoming barriers. Many typical accessibility interventions therefore fall within scope.

• Fixed or mobile ramps to overcome the entrance steps
• Stairlift or platform lift along common internal flights
• Lift or platform elevator where space allows
• Handrails, grab bars and adaptation of control panels and intercoms
• Widening or modifying doors and passages within the limits of law

The work at the individual's expense may also affect common parts, such as the lobby or the stairwell, provided it does not make them unusable for the other owners and does not impair the safety or stability of the building.

The insurmountable limits

Even the individual's right meets the prohibitions of Article 1120 of the Italian Civil Code. The work cannot make certain common parts unusable for the use or enjoyment of even a single owner, nor compromise the stability or safety of the building, nor seriously alter its architectural decorum. The right to accessibility is strong, but must be balanced: where an equally effective and less invasive solution exists, that one is to be preferred.

The other owners' later participation

The work carried out by the individual does not automatically become common. Under the principle of Article 1121 of the Italian Civil Code, owners who initially did not want to or could not take part may at any time ask to use the equipment, contributing to the execution and maintenance costs in proportion to the benefit they draw from it. Until then, use and costs remain with whoever built it.

This mechanism prevents the individual's initiative from turning into unjust enrichment for the others, but keeps the door open to future common management, with the related allocation.

Documentation and dealings with the manager

Even when paying alone, the owner must act transparently: notify the start of works, obtain the necessary building permits, respect the technical requirements of Decree 236/1989 and keep the project, permits and invoices. The manager, for their part, must record the request, any meeting decision and keep track of the work in the condominium's documentation, because it affects common parts.

Tracking written requests, resolutions, three-month terms and later participation requests is easier with orderly software. AmministraPro records communications, minutes the meetings and stores the intervention documents: the features are on /funzioni and the plans for managers and firms on /prezzi.