Requirements to become a condominium administrator and mandatory training

The requirements to become a condominium administrator were defined by the condominium reform, law 220/2012, which introduced art. 71 bis of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code. Before the reform anyone could take on the role without particular qualifications. Today the profession requires standards of good standing and professionalism and, for those who practise it regularly, an initial training path and annual refresher training. Let us see what it really takes to start and to stay compliant.

Condominium administrator requirements: good standing

The first group of requirements concerns the person's good standing. Art. 71 bis requires in particular that the administrator:

• enjoys full civil rights;
• has not been convicted of offences against public administration, the administration of justice, public trust, property, or other non-negligent offences punishable by imprisonment;
• has not been subject to prevention measures that have become final, save for rehabilitation;
• is not legally incapacitated or under a curatorship;
• does not appear in the register of dishonoured bills of exchange.

Requirements of professionalism

The second group relates to professional competence. As a rule the administrator must hold a secondary school diploma and have attended an initial training course, as well as carry out periodic training. The educational qualification and the courses are not required of someone who administers a condominium of which they are a co-owner, that is when the role is entrusted to one of the owners for their own building.

Initial training

Anyone who intends to practise the profession must attend an initial training course on condominium administration, from accounting to the legal and technical aspects of management. The content and duration of the courses are governed by DM 140/2014, the decree of the Ministry of Justice that set the criteria and methods for training administrators.

Mandatory annual refresher training

In addition to the initial course, DM 140/2014 provides for an obligation of periodic training on an annual basis. The refresher course lasts at least fifteen hours and covers the evolution of legislation and case law on condominium matters, as well as the solving of practical cases. It is a continuing obligation: training once is not enough, you must keep up to date year after year in order to continue practising.

Those already active before the reform

The rule provided protection for those who were practising the profession before the reform came into force. Administrators who had already carried out the activity for at least one year in the three years preceding the entry into force of the law are exempt from the initial training course, even without a secondary school diploma. However, the obligation of annual periodic training remains in place for them too.

Administrator as an individual or a company

The role can also be taken on by companies, including professional partnerships. In this case the requirements of good standing and professionalism must be held by the partners with unlimited liability, by the company's directors and by the employees tasked with actually carrying out the administration of the condominiums for which the company provides services.

Loss of the requirements

The loss of the good standing requirements results in removal from the role. In that case any owner can call the meeting, without formalities, to appoint a new administrator. It is therefore in the administrator's interest to maintain all the legal prerequisites over time, taking care in particular of the constant fulfilment of the training obligation, which is the requirement most easily overlooked.

Obligations at the time of appointment

Holding the requirements must be accompanied by certain obligations at the moment the role is accepted. On appointment the administrator must communicate their personal and professional details, the tax code or, for a company, the name and registered office, and the place where the registers are kept, with the days and hours for consultation. They must also display their contact details in an accessible spot. The reform also provided that the meeting, at the time of appointment, may make the role conditional on presenting a professional civil liability policy. These steps make the relationship with the owners transparent from the very start of the mandate.

Work tools matter as much as requirements

Having the requirements opens the door to the profession, but daily work rests on organisation: mandatory registers, separate accounting for each condominium, deadlines, communications to owners. A management error can expose even an administrator who is perfectly compliant on paper to removal.

AmministraPro helps the administrator keep the whole firm in order: condominium register, records, accounting and a financial statement compliant with the rules, with deadlines always under control. You can discover all the tools on the features page and compare the plans, including for firms managing several condominiums, in the pricing section.