Thousandths Tables Attached to the Regulations: Their Value

In the vast majority of condominiums the thousandths tables (tabelle millesimali) are attached to the regulations. This gives rise to a widespread misunderstanding: people think that, being attached to often contractual regulations, the tables too are contractual and can be amended only unanimously. In fact case law has clarified that a thousandths table, when it merely translates the proportional value of the units into fractions, has a technical function and does not embody a negotiated agreement: it can be corrected or amended with the majority provided by Article 69 of the implementing provisions.

What the tables are for

Thousandths tables express in thousandths the value of each unit relative to the whole building, so as to allow the division of expenses and the calculation of quorums in the meeting. They are a measuring tool, not a rule of conduct: they say how much each property weighs, not what may or may not be done. This technical nature is the starting point for understanding their legal value.

Alongside the general table there may be particular tables, such as the one for stairs (Article 1124), for the lift or for heating, each built according to the criterion proper to the asset or service it refers to.

Attached to the regulations does not mean contractual

The fact that the tables are attached to contractual regulations, meaning those prepared by the original builder and accepted in the purchase deeds, is not enough to make them contractual too. A distinction must be drawn between clauses governing rights and obligations, which have negotiated value, and tables that merely quantify the proportional value of the units. The latter remain the expression of a legal allocation criterion and not of a free agreement.

• A technical table measures the proportional value of the units
• Attachment to the regulations does not turn the table into a contractual clause
• Contractual nature exists only if the shares depart from the legal criteria by agreement of the parties
• The regulations and the tables may have different amendment regimes

When the table really is contractual

There is a case in which the table takes on contractual nature: when the values do not reflect the legal proportional criterion but result from an agreement by which the owners knowingly departed from the legal criteria, for example by establishing that a certain unit pays less than it should. In this scenario the table embodies an allocation agreement and amending it requires the consent of all owners, because rights fixed by agreement are being altered.

How they are amended: Article 69 of the implementing provisions

Article 69 of the implementing provisions lists the cases in which tables can be corrected or amended by majority, even in the interest of a single owner. There are two main scenarios: when it emerges that the table is the result of an error, and when, due to changed conditions of part of the building following an upward extension, an increase in surfaces or in units, the proportional value of even a single unit is altered by more than one fifth. In these cases the amendment is approved with the majority under Article 1136, second paragraph.

Outside these scenarios, if you want to change the allocation criteria for pure convenience, with no error and no objective change, unanimity is required, because this is a new agreement altering everyone's rights.

Why the distinction matters in practice

Knowing whether a table is technical or contractual determines the majority needed to act and, consequently, the validity of the resolution. Resolving by majority an amendment that instead required unanimity exposes the decision to challenge; conversely, demanding unanimity where a majority would suffice can block due corrections of obvious errors. Analysing the actual function of the table, rather than its mere placement among the attachments, is therefore essential.

Keeping the regulations, attached tables and amendment history together in a single well-ordered archive helps avoid confusing the two regimes. With AmministraPro the manager stores the regulations and tables, applies the thousandths to the allocation and documents every revision: the features are described on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.