The condominium PEC: obligation, use and benefits

The condominium PEC (posta elettronica certificata, certified email) is an increasingly common tool in building management, because it gives communications the same legal value as registered mail with return receipt. Yet there is considerable confusion around it: it is not always clear whether it is mandatory, who must have one and what concrete benefits it offers. Let us set the record straight, distinguishing the administrator's position from that of the condominium as an entity.

What PEC is and why it has legal value

Certified email is a mail system that gives messages legal value, guaranteeing proof of sending and delivery with a certain date and time. A message sent between two PEC mailboxes is, in evidential terms, equivalent to a registered letter with return receipt. For the condominium this means being able to communicate in a traceable and enforceable way without the costs and delays of paper mail.

Must the administrator have a PEC?

The answer depends on who holds the role. An individual administrator not enrolled in a professional register has no general obligation to hold a PEC for the management activity alone, since this is an unregulated profession. The obligation does arise when the administrator is a professional enrolled in a register, such as a lawyer or an engineer, or when the role is carried out by a company, for which registering a PEC address in the business register is mandatory.

A PEC in the condominium's name

Besides the administrator's PEC, the meeting can resolve to activate a PEC mailbox in the condominium's own name. This is a useful choice because the mailbox stays tied to the building rather than to the administrator: on a change of management, the new administrator takes over the same mailbox, with no loss of communications and archives. The activation and running costs fall among the ordinary expenses allocated to the owners.

This continuity is precious during handovers, one of the most delicate moments in a building's life. If official correspondence has passed through the outgoing administrator's personal PEC, the incoming one risks losing track of ongoing matters, deadlines and disputes. With a mailbox in the entity's name, instead, the history stays available to the condominium and whoever takes over management finds formal notices, communications from public authorities and suppliers' replies in a single archive tied to the building.

The condominium registry and PEC addresses

Among the administrator's duties is keeping the condominium registry, which gathers the data of those with rights over the units: owners, usufructuaries and tenants, with tax code, cadastral data and contact details. These include the PEC address or fax, where available. Having owners' PEC addresses makes it possible to use them for official communications, starting with meeting notices.

Use with authorities, suppliers and institutions

A PEC in the condominium's name simplifies dealings with public authorities, suppliers, insurance companies and credit institutions. It allows documents to be sent and received with legal value, building and tax procedures to be handled, and reminders and formal notices to be transmitted with proof of delivery. It is a tool that makes the building's entire correspondence faster and better documented.

PEC and calling the meeting

PEC is among the methods expressly permitted by article 66 of the provisions implementing the Civil Code for communicating the notice calling the meeting. Sending the notice by PEC, to the addresses owners have provided, gives the administrator certain proof of receipt within the legal deadlines, reducing the risk of challenges based on defective notice. It remains essential to use the address the owner has actually provided.

How to activate it and what it costs

Activating a PEC mailbox in the condominium's name goes through an accredited provider and requires the condominium's tax code and the details of the administrator who manages it. It is good practice for the meeting to resolve on its activation, so that the choice and the related cost are transparent. The costs are modest, typically a small annual fee, and fall among the ordinary expenses allocated on the basis of the thousandth shares. It is important to check the mailbox regularly and keep it active over time, because an expired or unattended PEC nullifies the legal value of communications and can cause official notices from authorities and suppliers to be missed.

Managing PEC with software

Management software stores PEC addresses in the condominium registry and uses them to send notices, communications and reminders, archiving the acceptance and delivery receipts. This way the administrator keeps, in one place, the history of each building's official communications, ready to produce in case of a dispute, without having to retrieve messages from scattered mailboxes.

AmministraPro integrates the condominium PEC into management, from the registry with up-to-date contact details to the tracked sending of notices and communications. You can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.