Ordinary Expenses and Home Sale: Who Pays What

When a home is sold mid-year, ordinary condominium expenses are divided between seller and buyer based on when the management activity accrues, that is, when the maintenance, preservation and enjoyment of the common parts takes place. For ordinary maintenance, cleaning, common-area energy and recurring services, the payment obligation arises during the financial year, so the instalments follow whoever owns the property in the period to which the expense refers. What matters is not only the date of the resolution, but the accrual period.

The Rule for Ordinary Expenses

For ordinary expenses, the debt toward the condominium arises when the management activity connected to the common asset is carried out. These are expenses meant to cover ongoing consumption and services, used up day by day. As a result, they fall on whoever holds ownership, and therefore enjoyment, during the period when the service is provided. If the management budget was approved before the sale but covers the whole year, the pro-rata temporal allocation divides the burden between seller and buyer according to their respective months of ownership.

• Stairwell and common-area cleaning
• Electricity for common parts and the elevator in service
• Small recurring maintenance and gardening
• The manager's fee and ordinary management costs

External Relationship and Internal Relationship

Two levels must be distinguished. Toward the condominium (external relationship), Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code applies: the buyer is jointly liable with the seller for the contributions of the current year and the previous one, and the condominium may turn to whoever appears to be the owner. Between the parties (internal relationship), however, contractual agreements and accrual criteria apply: whoever has paid more than their share may ask the other for reimbursement of the difference. It is on this second level that the ownership criterion correctly divides ordinary expenses.

How Each Party's Share Is Calculated

The most common method is temporal allocation. You take the annual ordinary expense attributable to the unit, divide it by the days or months of the financial year and allocate it in proportion to each party's period of ownership. The deed often states the reference date and provides for a balancing settlement at the close of the financial year, when the manager issues the final statement.

• Identify the annual ordinary expense charged to the unit sold
• Calculate the seller's and buyer's days of ownership in the year
• Divide the expense in proportion to each party's days
• Settle the final balance on the approved year-end statement

Instalments Already Issued Before the Deed

A recurring doubt concerns budget instalments already due and perhaps already paid by the seller before the sale. If they cover periods after the deed, the corresponding share is owed by the buyer and must be settled in the seller's favour. If instead the buyer receives payment requests for periods when they were not yet the owner, they may seek reimbursement from the seller in the internal relationship. To avoid disputes, it is useful to record, at the time of the deed, the status of instalments issued, paid and due.

The Role of the Year-End Statement

The real moment of truth is the close of the financial year. The budget is a forecast, whereas the final statement captures the actual expenses. Upon its approval, debit or credit balances emerge which, for ordinary expenses, follow the accrual period. A seller should agree who will receive any credits and who will bear the debit balances referring to the period before the deed, so as not to end up arguing months after the sale.

Keeping the Accounts Aligned

For the manager, handling a change of owner mid-year means keeping order among instalments, receipts and accruals, so as to produce clear and defensible balancing charges. With management software such as AmministraPro you can allocate expenses pro rata over time, update the unit's titleholder and generate the automatic balance at the close of the statement, reducing manual errors. The accounting features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans for firms of every size on /prezzi.