Constitutive and deliberative quorum of the Italian condominium meeting

The quorum of the condominium meeting is the minimum number of participants and thousandths (millesimi) required for a meeting to be valid and its decisions binding. The matter is governed by article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code, which distinguishes two moments: the constitutive quorum, that is how many owners must be present for the meeting to be considered properly formed, and the deliberative quorum, that is how many votes are needed to approve a decision. Confusing the two levels, or applying them to the wrong call, is one of the most frequent causes of challenges to resolutions.

Constitutive and deliberative quorum of the condominium meeting

The constitutive quorum checks whether the meeting can begin. The deliberative quorum checks, vote by vote, whether the individual proposal is approved. These are two distinct controls: a meeting can be validly constituted and yet fail to reach the majority needed for a particular resolution. Both are measured on two combined quantities, the number of heads (the participants in the condominium) and the value in thousandths, because condominium law balances equality among people with the weight of ownership.

The numbers for the first call

On first call the meeting is validly constituted with the presence of owners representing two thirds of the value of the whole building and a majority of the participants in the condominium. On the deliberative side, decisions are valid when approved by a number of votes representing the majority of those present and at least half the value of the building, that is five hundred thousandths. The first call therefore requires broad participation, which is why in larger buildings it often lapses without a quorum.

The numbers for the second call

On second call the quorums are lowered to avoid deadlock. The meeting is validly constituted with the presence of owners representing at least one third of the value of the building and one third of the participants in the condominium. Resolutions are valid if approved by the majority of those present representing at least one third of the value of the building, that is at least three hundred and thirty-four thousandths. Precisely because the numbers are lower, the second call is where most ordinary matters are in practice decided.

The special majorities for certain decisions

Some resolutions always require a reinforced majority, regardless of the call. Approval by the majority of those present and at least five hundred thousandths is needed, for example, for the appointment and removal of the administrator, decisions on active and passive litigation, the reconstruction of the building or major extraordinary repairs. The improvements under article 1120 first paragraph require an even higher quorum, the majority of those present and two thirds of the value of the building. For these matters the reduced quorum of the second call is therefore not enough.

Who counts towards the quorum

An owner present at the opening of the meeting who leaves before the vote still counts towards the constitutive quorum, but not towards the deliberative quorum on that resolution. Proxies are added to those present within the limits set by the regulations and the law. Someone who owns several units counts as a single head but sums the thousandths. Keeping an accurate count of heads, thousandths, attendees and proxy givers is the most delicate part of drafting the minutes.

Abstentions also require attention. Those who abstain count towards the constitutive quorum and the calculation base, but their vote is added neither to the votes in favour nor to those against: a proposal is approved only if the votes in favour reach the required majority on their own. Treating abstentions as votes against, or not counting them at all, is a mistake that can distort the outcome and make the resolution contestable.

Typical mistakes in calculating the quorum

The most frequent mistakes are applying the second-call numbers to a resolution that requires a special majority, calculating the majority on those present rather than on the entitled attendees, or omitting the double control of heads and thousandths. Another classic error is recording the approval without stating the thousandths in favour, against and abstaining, since these are needed to prove that the quorum was reached in case of a challenge.

• Check the constitutive quorum first, then the deliberative one on each item.
• Identify resolutions subject to a special majority or to the improvements quorum.
• Always count heads and thousandths together, not just one of the two.
• Record in the minutes the votes in favour, against and abstaining with their thousandths.

Calculating quorums with management software

Condominium management software calculates quorums in real time from the thousandth tables and the registered attendees, flags whether a resolution requires a special majority and produces minutes with the numbers already summarised. This reduces the risk of resolutions that can be challenged for a quorum defect and frees the administrator from manual calculation during the meeting.

AmministraPro manages notices of meeting, proxies and quorum counting from the building's thousandth tables, with minutes that automatically report the heads and thousandths of each vote. You can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.