Expenses by differentiated use: Article 1123 paragraph 2

Article 1123 of the Italian Civil Code does not set a single allocation criterion, but three. The first paragraph provides for splitting in proportion to ownership thousandths (millesimi), but the second paragraph introduces a different principle: when a thing is meant to serve owners to a different degree, expenses are split in proportion to the use each owner can make of it. This is the differentiated use criterion, which explains why some items do not follow the general ownership table but a dedicated use table.

The text of the second paragraph

The rule states that, where things are meant to serve owners to a different degree, expenses are split in proportion to the use each can make of them. The key word is potential: what counts is the use the owner can make of the asset, not the use actually made. An owner who keeps a flat closed for months is not exempted from the expenses of a thing they could potentially use like anyone else in the same position.

Why a criterion other than thousandths is needed

Ownership thousandths measure the value of a unit within the building, not how intensely that unit uses a given service. For some common parts the two figures coincide, for others they do not. Stairs serve upper floors more, the lift serves those living higher up, heating depends on the volumes to be warmed: applying general thousandths alone to these items would produce an allocation disconnected from real utility, which is exactly what the second paragraph seeks to avoid.

Typical examples of differentiated use

• Stairs: allocation takes floor height into account, under Article 1124 of the Civil Code.
• Lift: maintenance and running weigh more on the floors served to a greater degree.
• Central heating: consumption is tied to heating thousandths or actual consumption.
• Water system: where measurable, water consumption follows individual meters.
• Lighting of spaces and passages used to a different degree by the units.

Use tables

To apply the use criterion, the condominium adopts specific tables alongside the general ownership table. These are the so called special or use tables: one for the stairs, one for the lift, one for heating and so on. Each table distributes thousandths according to the parameter relevant to that service, so that the related expenses follow utility rather than the overall value of the unit. The general table remains the basis for the conservation and enjoyment of undivided common parts.

The relationship with the first and third paragraphs

The three paragraphs of Article 1123 work together. The first paragraph is the default rule, ownership thousandths, and applies unless otherwise agreed. The second paragraph corrects it when use is differentiated. The third paragraph applies instead when a common part serves only a group of owners, such as a stairway serving a single wing of the building: in that case the expense falls only on those who benefit. Identifying the correct paragraph for each item is the premise of an orderly statement.

Derogability and limits

The use criterion can be changed by an agreement among all owners, because Article 1123 paragraph 1 preserves any contrary agreement and case law allows allocation criteria to be waived with the consent of all interested parties. The meeting acting by majority, however, cannot change the statutory allocation criteria: it can only apply them. A majority resolution that shifts onto everyone an expense that by law falls only on some is flawed and can be challenged.

Keeping the ownership table and the use tables separate, and assigning each expense to the right table, is work that automation greatly simplifies. AmministraPro lets you manage several tables for the same condominium and link each expense item to the correct criterion, so that the final statement complies with Article 1123 without manual calculations. The accounting features are shown on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.