The builder's unsold units: who pays the expenses

Unsold units remain the property of the building developer, which for them is a full member of the condominium and must pay condominium expenses in proportion to thousandths (millesimi), exactly like any other owner. The fact that the apartments are new, empty or awaiting a buyer does not reduce the duty to contribute, which depends on ownership of the unit and not on its use, under Article 1118 of the Italian Civil Code. The developer therefore pays its share of preserving the common parts until the deed of sale of each unit.

The developer is an owner like the others

In a building's early years it is common for some apartments to remain unsold. For those units the owner is the developer, which participates in the condominium with the rights and duties of any owner: it votes at the meeting in proportion to the thousandths it holds and contributes to common expenses with the same share.

There is no exemption for unsold apartments. The duty to pay the costs of preserving and managing the common parts arises from ownership, and until it transfers the unit by notarial deed the developer owns it and owes the condominium.

Which expenses fall on the unsold stock

Unsold units contribute to all expenses that do not depend on individual consumption:

• Ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of common parts resolved by the meeting.
• Building insurance, the manager's fee and general management costs.
• Maintenance of common systems and mandatory periodic inspections.
• Fixed shares of centralised services, such as the non-consumption part of heating.

Only the shares strictly tied to actual consumption of individually metered services are excluded, and in a vacant apartment these tend to zero. The allocation structure is the same as applies to any unoccupied unit.

Liability for expenses at the time of sale

When the developer sells a unit, the question of splitting debts between seller and buyer arises. Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code establishes that whoever succeeds to the rights of an owner is jointly liable with him for the payment of contributions relating to the current year and the previous one.

In practice, the buyer and the developer are jointly liable to the condominium for the expenses of the year of the deed and the one before. In their internal relations, the sale agreement then splits the costs between the parties, but this cannot be raised against the condominium, which may turn to either one for those years.

The developer's thousandths and voting rights

Often holding a significant thousandths share, the developer may carry considerable decision weight at the meeting in the early years. This is normal and lawful, but must be balanced with respect for the other owners' rights: resolutions must still comply with the legal criteria and cannot arbitrarily favour the majority owner.

As sales progress, the developer's share shrinks and decision weight redistributes among the new owners. The manager must promptly update the condominium register at each deed, so that thousandths, shares and contact details reflect the real ownership of the units.

The developer's arrears

It is not unusual for the developer to be late paying expenses on unsold units, perhaps while waiting to sell them. The condominium must not passively accept the arrears: the manager has a duty to act to recover the contributions, as with any other defaulting owner, demanding payment and, if necessary, starting collection actions.

Letting the developer's debt grow penalises the other owners, who risk advancing the missing sums to keep common services running. Timeliness in demanding and recovering payment is therefore essential.

Keeping the register and splits always up to date

Updating thousandths at each sale, distinguishing the units still owned by the developer and monitoring payments avoids allocation errors and hidden arrears. AmministraPro lets you manage the condominium register, update shares at each transfer and keep each owner's contributions under control, including the developer's. The features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.