Separating a building into an autonomous condominium: Art. 61

Article 61 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code allows one or more buildings to be separated from a condominium made up of several buildings and to form an autonomous condominium. Separation is possible when a group of buildings belonging to different owners can be divided into parts that have the features of autonomous buildings. Physical distinction is not enough: each portion must be able to function independently, with its own accesses and separate or separable systems.

What Article 61 of the implementing provisions states

The rule provides that, where a building or a group of buildings belonging by floors or portions of floors to different owners can be divided into parts with the features of autonomous buildings, the condominium may be dissolved and the co-owners of each part may form a separate condominium. It is the typical tool for residential complexes born as a single large condominium but composed of distinct blocks, which over time want to manage themselves independently.

Separation produces two or more new condominiums, each with its own owners' meeting, its own bodies and its own accounts. The original condominium is dissolved in whole or in part, depending on whether the division concerns the entire complex or only some blocks that leave the common management.

The requirement of functional autonomy

The most delicate point is verifying autonomy. For separation to be admissible, each portion must be able to function on its own. In practice this means having accesses that are independent from the public road or from its own areas, and dedicated systems or systems easily divisible without harming the other buildings. If the blocks share a single non-divisible heating plant, one vehicle entrance or common load-bearing structures that are indispensable, autonomy is lacking and separation cannot be ordered.

• Own, independent accesses for each building to be separated
• Dedicated technical systems, or systems separable without harm to the others
• Structures allowing autonomous management of the remaining common parts
• The ability to draw up its own millesimi tables for the new condominium

The assembly route and the judicial route

Separation can take place in two ways. The first path is a resolution of the owners' meeting, adopted with the majority prescribed by the second paragraph of Article 1136 of the Civil Code, that is a number of votes representing a majority of those present and at least half the value of the building. The second path is judicial: when agreement is missing, separation can be ordered by the judicial authority on the request of at least one third of the co-owners of the part of the building for which separation is sought.

The judicial route protects minorities who want to leave a common management that has become inconvenient, but it still requires proof of functional autonomy. The judge will not order separation if the detachment compromises the stability, safety or enjoyment of the buildings that remain.

The case of parts that remain common: Article 62

Article 62 of the implementing provisions clarifies that separation is possible even if some of the assets listed in Article 1117 remain common with the original participants. The detachment therefore need not be total. An access driveway, a sewer system or a green area may continue to serve several condominiums even after separation, creating a situation similar to a super-condominium for those residual assets, while each block independently manages the rest.

This possibility makes separation a flexible tool: the ordinary management of each building can be split while keeping in common only what is technically indivisible, with the related expenses shared among the owners who benefit from them.

Practical effects and managing the transition

With separation, new entities arise that must obtain their own tax code, a dedicated bank account and, if owners exceed the legal thresholds, an administrator and a regulation. Millesimi tables must be redone on the new perimeter, because the original ones were calibrated on the entire complex. Cash reserves, credits toward defaulters and relations with suppliers must also be divided among the new condominiums in an orderly way.

Splitting the owners register, tables and balances among several condominiums is a delicate operation that AmministraPro simplifies: from the units of the original complex the new condominiums are built, their own tables are generated and transferred balances and arrears are tracked. The multi-condominium management features are described on the /funzioni page, while the plans calibrated on the number of managed owners are on the /prezzi page.