Extraordinary Works and a Sale: the Resolution Date Rules

For extraordinary condominium expenses in a sale, what counts is the date of the owners' meeting resolution approving the execution of the works, not the date the works are physically carried out or paid for. Whoever owns the unit at the time of the implementing resolution bears the cost, even if they later sell the property before the site opens. It is a principle upheld by case law, and it sharply distinguishes extraordinary expenses from ordinary ones, for which the management-period criterion applies instead. Knowing this prevents charging the works to the wrong party.

The Principle: Obligation at the Resolution Date

The obligation to contribute to extraordinary expenses arises when the meeting approves the execution of the works on the common parts. It is the implementing resolution, the one that actually orders the works, that generates the debt. As a result, whoever appears to be the owner on that date is required to pay the entire expense resolved, regardless of whether the property is later sold or the works are carried out months afterward. If the sale takes place after the resolution, the buyer may legitimately demand that the seller bear that cost.

Implementing Resolution and Preliminary Acts

Not all meeting decisions have the same effect. It is necessary to distinguish the resolution that actually approves the execution of the works from mere acts of direction, study or gathering of quotes. It is the implementing resolution that fixes the payment obligation. If the meeting merely assessed the appropriateness of an intervention or instructed a technician to prepare a report, without approving execution, the obligation has not yet arisen. Precisely identifying the resolution that gives rise to the debt is decisive in understanding who must pay.

The Distinction From Ordinary Expenses

The extraordinary-expense criterion is the opposite of the ordinary one. For ordinary expenses, the obligation arises when the management activity of maintenance, preservation and enjoyment of the asset takes place, so it follows the accrual period and is split pro rata over time. For extraordinary ones, by contrast, what counts is the snapshot of ownership at the resolution date. Treating extraordinary works like ordinary expenses, allocating them by months of ownership, is an error that assigns the cost to the wrong party.

• Ordinary expenses: obligation at the time of management, allocated by period
• Extraordinary expenses: obligation at the date of the implementing resolution
• Sale after the resolution: cost borne by the seller in the internal relationship
• Sale before the resolution: cost borne by the buyer

Internal Relationship and External Relationship

As with other expenses, the two levels must be distinguished. Toward the condominium, the joint liability of Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code applies: the buyer is jointly liable for the contributions of the current year and the previous one, so the manager may also request from them the extraordinary expense not yet paid. In the internal relationship between the parties, however, the cost remains with whoever owned the property at the resolution date. A buyer who pays can seek reimbursement from the seller for the share pertaining to them.

How to Settle Extraordinary Works at the Deed

In a sale it is essential to check whether resolutions on extraordinary works have already been approved and to clarify their fate in the deed. The parties may agree that the seller takes on the works resolved before the deed, or that the price accounts for the ongoing interventions. It is prudent to attach copies of the resolutions and ask the manager for the state of payments relating to the extraordinary works, so as to capture the unit's position precisely.

• Identify all extraordinary resolutions approved before the deed
• Check which instalments of the works are already due and which still to be paid
• Include a clause on the allocation of extraordinary costs
• Ask the manager for the state of payments on the works

Tracking Extraordinary Resolutions

To correctly allocate extraordinary works you need an orderly archive of resolutions, with dates, amounts and allocation plans. Management software such as AmministraPro lets you record resolutions on extraordinary works, associate them with units and produce the state of payments useful during a sale, so seller and buyer know who must pay what. The features for managing works and resolutions are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on /prezzi.