Handover: Settling Accessory Charges with the Tenant

At handover, the adjustment of condominium accessory charges is calculated by comparing what the tenant paid on account during the lease with the actual share resulting from the approved condominium statements. The difference is a debit or credit for the tenant and must be settled before or when the security deposit is returned. The calculation must rest on real expense documents, because the tenant is entitled to verify the items before paying.

Which charges are settled

The adjustment concerns the accessory charges owed by the tenant under Article 9 of Law 392 of 1978, that is, the ordinary operating costs of the common services enjoyed during the lease. Typical items are cleaning, the lift for ordinary maintenance, the consumption of water and electricity of the common parts, heating and minor upkeep of the green areas. Extraordinary expenses and structural maintenance are excluded, as they belong to the owner and do not enter the adjustment with the tenant.

The role of condominium statements

The delicate point is timing: the condominium adjustment often arrives after the financial year closes, when the tenant has already left. To calculate the actual share, the statements approved by the meeting are needed, dividing the costs by unit and by table. Until then the tenant has paid estimated instalments on account; only the final statement reveals whether he paid too much or too little. That is why the adjustment is made when the accounts are available, not on an estimate.

The documents to give the tenant

The tenant is entitled to obtain a specific indication of the expenses before paying the balance. Good practice is to hand over:

• The approved condominium allocation for the leased unit
• The detail of the items owed by the tenant, distinct from the owner's
• The schedule of instalments already paid during the relationship
• The final calculation of the balance, debit or credit

This transparency is not mere courtesy: it makes the landlord's credit enforceable and prevents the tenant from disputing undocumented amounts. An opaque adjustment is the leading cause of disputes at handover.

Adjustment and security deposit

If the adjustment is a debit for the tenant and he does not pay, the landlord may satisfy the corresponding amount from the deposit, withholding the sum and returning the difference with the statutory interest accrued. If instead the tenant is in credit, for example because he paid instalments above the real share, the landlord must refund the excess. Returning the deposit and settling the adjustment are steps best handled together, with a single schedule that closes all items.

Timing and limitation

The landlord has an interest in requesting the adjustment without delay, as soon as the statement is available. Sums due for accessory charges are subject to a limitation period, so postponing the request too long may forfeit the right to recover. The tenant likewise has an interest in claiming any credit promptly. Fixing a clear moment to close the accounts, with a handover report and meter readings, gives certainty to both parties.

Handling the adjustment without errors

A correct adjustment requires isolating, for the leased unit and the exact period, only the ordinary part owed by the tenant. With well-kept condominium accounting this is quick: the unit's allocation is extracted, ordinary and extraordinary are separated, and instalments are compared. With a platform like AmministraPro the manager provides the owner with a per-unit statement ready for the adjustment with the tenant, reducing time and errors: the features are on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.