Replacing the intercom: owner or tenant, who pays

Replacing the condominium intercom system is extraordinary work and falls on the owner, not the tenant. The tenant is responsible only for use and minor maintenance costs, for example replacing a handset broken through misuse. Among the owners the cost is split, as a rule, by general thousandths (millesimi) or in equal shares if the meeting so decides, because the service serves all units in a substantially uniform way. Let us look at the basis and the practical cases.

The intercom system is common property

The intercom or video intercom system connecting the entrance to the individual units is a system intended for common use and falls among the common property under Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code. The common part consists of the backbone, the external panel, the power supply and the connections up to the internal branches. The internal handset within the flat, that is the device in the single unit, is instead the exclusive property of the owner.

From this distinction follows the expense rule: work on the common part is split among all the owners served, while repairing or replacing only the internal device remains with the owner of that unit.

How it is split among owners

The cost of replacing the common part of the system follows Article 1123, first paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code, that is allocation by thousandths. However, since each unit has a branch and uses the service uniformly, it is common and legitimate for the meeting to resolve to split the cost in equal shares. The options are:

• allocation by general thousandths, the fallback criterion in the absence of a different resolution;
• allocation in equal shares, if approved by the meeting because of the equal use of the service;
• allocation only among those served, excluding units without a branch or not connected to the system.

The chosen criterion must be recorded in the minutes to avoid disputes when the accounts are drawn up.

Maintenance, replacement, use: the key distinction

To understand who pays between owner and tenant, the work must be classified. Full replacement of the system due to age or technological upgrade is extraordinary maintenance: it increases or restores the value of the asset. Minor maintenance, such as cleaning the panel or replacing a small component worn by use, is ordinary in nature. Only the second category can fall on the tenant.

Who pays: owner or tenant

In the lease relationship the split between ordinary and extraordinary charges follows the rules of rentals, which place ordinary maintenance and use costs on the tenant and leave extraordinary work with the landlord. Applied to the intercom:

• replacing the intercom system or upgrading to a video intercom remains with the owner;
• minor maintenance and use costs may be charged to the tenant as an accessory charge;
• repairing the internal device broken through misuse falls on whoever damaged it, usually the tenant.

Towards the condominium, in any case, the party liable for the share is always the owner, under Article 63 of the implementing provisions. Internal agreements with the tenant cannot be enforced against the manager.

Is upgrading to a video intercom an innovation?

Replacing an old, faulty intercom with an equivalent model is simple maintenance. Upgrading to a video intercom system with new functions may instead amount to an innovation, with the higher majorities required by Article 1120 of the Italian Civil Code. If the installation involves capturing images of people in common areas, the data protection principles of EU Regulation 2016/679 must also be respected, with a privacy notice and framing limited to what is strictly necessary.

Majorities and resolution

Ordinary replacement is approved with the majorities of Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code for conservative management. Innovation instead requires reinforced majorities. In both cases the resolution should state the quote, the allocation criterion and the nature of the work, so as to clarify from the outset who pays what.

How to keep the shares separate in the accounts

The most common mistake is charging the tenant with extraordinary work, or splitting the intervention using a criterion different from the one resolved. With AmministraPro the manager sets the allocation criterion of the single expense and distinguishes ordinary items from extraordinary ones, generating correct shares for the owner and, where applicable, for the tenant. To learn more about managing common expenses and automatic allocation you can review /funzioni and compare the plans on /prezzi.