Removing the Manager: With or Without Just Cause

The owners' meeting may remove the manager at any time, but removal has different consequences depending on whether it is supported by just cause. Removal for just cause presupposes a breach or a serious irregularity and entails no compensation in favor of the manager. Removal without just cause, that is, freely decided by the meeting before the mandate expires, may instead ground a right to compensation, because it affects a fixed-term appointment granted for consideration.

The meeting's power of removal

The relationship between condominium and manager is a mandate and, as such, is revocable. Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code provides that the meeting may remove the manager at any time, consistent with the general rule on the revocability of mandate in Article 1723. This power expresses the fiduciary character of the relationship: if trust breaks down, the owners may change the manager without waiting for the appointment to end.

Removal for just cause

Removal for just cause occurs when the manager has failed in their duties in a way that justifies immediate removal. Article 1129 itself lists certain serious irregularities that also justify judicial removal on the application of any owner, such as failure to render the account, serious irregularities in management, failure to open or use the dedicated bank account, and failure to communicate data. Where just cause exists, removal is fully legitimate and entails no indemnity in favor of the manager.

• Failure to render, or irregular rendering of, the annual report
• Serious irregularities in accounting or in the management of common funds
• Failure to open or use the bank account in the condominium's name
• Failure to comply with court orders or serious breaches of duty

Removal without just cause

The meeting may also remove the manager without just cause, out of simple loss of trust or the choice to entrust the role to someone else. The power of removal remains, but the financial profile changes. Because the manager's appointment is typically a fixed-term mandate for consideration, early removal deprives the manager of the agreed fee for the remaining period and, according to the prevailing view, may ground a right to compensation where there is no just cause.

The right to compensation

The rules on mandate provide the reference. Article 1725 of the Italian Civil Code provides that the revocation of a mandate for consideration granted for a fixed term, if made before expiry and without just cause, obliges the principal to compensate for the damage. Applied to a condominium, this rule means that a manager removed at will, in the absence of any breach, may claim compensation for the harm suffered, typically measured against the fee they would have earned until expiry. Just cause, where it exists, excludes this right.

Burden of proof and minutes

In practice, the difference between the two types of removal turns on proof. If the meeting wishes to avoid compensation claims, it must clearly state and record in the minutes the reasons amounting to just cause, so as to be able to prove them if challenged. A removal justified only by generic expressions of distrust risks being classified as removal without cause. Documenting the breaches, with written reminders and accounting evidence, strengthens the condominium's position.

Practical effects of the distinction

Understanding the distinction is useful to both sides. The condominium must know that removing a fixed-term mandate without just cause may expose it to a cost, and so weigh whether to wait for the natural expiry or build its reasons carefully. The manager, for their part, must know that the right to compensation is not automatic but tied to the absence of just cause, and that irregular management bars any claim. In any case removal takes immediate effect and requires the handover to the new manager.

Preventing disputes over removal also means being able to demonstrate regular and transparent management. With AmministraPro reports, transactions and obligations remain documented and easy to consult, a concrete help both for the manager seeking protection and for the condominium that must justify a decision. The features are at /funzioni and the plans at /prezzi.