Condominium common parts: what they are under art. 1117 of the Civil Code

Condominium common parts are the assets, systems and services intended for the use and enjoyment of all owners, rather than of a single unit. Condominium common parts are identified by article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code, which provides a list arranged in three categories. Understanding what counts as a common part is the starting point for correctly managing maintenance, expense allocation and each owner's rights.

What art. 1117 says about condominium common parts

Article 1117 of the Civil Code lists the parts presumed to be common, unless the title provides otherwise. The rule groups common assets into three categories: the structural parts of the building, the areas and premises used for common services, and the works and systems intended for collective use. The list is not exhaustive: any asset that, by its function, actually serves all owners falls among the common parts.

The three categories of common parts

The structural parts of the building

The first category comprises the elements that support and protect the building: the ground on which it stands, the foundations, the master walls, the pillars and load-bearing beams, the roofs and flat roofs, the stairs, the entrance doors, the vestibules, the hallways, the porticoes, the courtyards and the facades. These are the parts that ensure the stability and use of the whole building.

The areas and premises for common services

The second category concerns areas used for parking and premises for common services, such as the porter's lodge, including the porter's accommodation, the laundry, the drying rooms and the attics, when the latter are intended, by their structural and functional features, for common use.

The works and systems intended for common use

The third category comprises the works, installations and structures intended for common use, such as lifts, wells, cisterns, water and sewage systems, and centralized systems for the distribution and transmission of gas, electricity, heating and air conditioning, radio and television reception and access to information flows, up to the branching point to the premises owned by the individual owners.

The presumption of joint ownership and contrary title

Article 1117 introduces a presumption of joint ownership: the listed assets are considered common unless the title provides otherwise. Contrary title is typically the deed of purchase or a regulation of a contractual nature that assigns exclusive ownership of a given asset to a single owner. The presumption protects collective use: in the absence of documentary proof to the contrary, the asset remains common.

How common parts are used

Under article 1102 of the Civil Code, each owner may use the common parts, provided they do not alter their intended purpose and do not prevent the others from making equal use of them. More far-reaching changes fall under the rules on innovations of article 1120, which require the meeting's approval and cannot harm the stability, safety or architectural decorum of the building, nor make any common part unusable or unenjoyable even by a single owner.

Allocating expenses on the common parts

The expenses of preserving and enjoying the common parts are allocated, under article 1123 of the Civil Code, in proportion to the ownership thousandths. Exceptions are the assets intended to serve the owners in different measure, for which the expense is proportionate to use, and the assets that serve only part of the building, whose expenses fall only on the group concerned.

• General expenses on common parts: in proportion to ownership thousandths.
• Assets serving owners in different measure: in proportion to use.
• Assets serving only part of the building: borne by the group that benefits.
• Stairs and lift: half by thousandths and half by floor height, under article 1124.

Common parts and exclusive ownership

Not everything in the building is common. The individual units and their appurtenances remain in exclusive ownership, such as a service balcony serving a single apartment or the internal system serving a single owner downstream of the branching point. The dividing line often runs precisely through the branching point of the systems: up to there the stretch is common, beyond it is exclusive. Distinguishing the two areas precisely avoids charging everyone with expenses that belong to just one owner, and vice versa.

Some assets are of a mixed or uncertain nature, such as flat roofs in exclusive use or facades on which private elements rest. In these cases the allocation of expenses follows specific rules, such as that of article 1126 for flat roofs in exclusive use, which splits the burden between the person who uses them and the other owners. Here too the title and the contractual regulation can clarify the boundaries of ownership.

Why mapping the common parts matters

A clear mapping of the common parts and their allocation tables prevents disputes over expenses and simplifies maintenance management. Knowing exactly which assets are common, whom they serve and by which criterion their costs are split is the condition for drawing up correct budgets and verifiable financial statements.

Managing common parts with management software

Condominium management software makes it possible to link each common part to its millesimal table and to the groups of owners concerned, so that the allocation of expenses automatically follows the correct criterion. Maintenance, contracts and documents remain linked to the asset they refer to, making management transparent.

AmministraPro manages the condominium common parts with dedicated millesimal tables, automatic allocation of expenses by asset and groups of owners, and an archive of linked documents. You can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.