Challenging a Resolution: the 30-Day Deadline

An owner who wants to challenge an annullable resolution has thirty days to apply to the court, as provided by Article 1137 of the Italian Civil Code. The deadline is peremptory and works as a forfeiture term: once it passes, the right to have the resolution annulled is lost for good. The tricky point is not the length, but the moment the thirty days start to run, which changes depending on whether the owner was absent, dissenting or abstaining.

The text of Article 1137

Article 1137 establishes that, against resolutions contrary to the law or to the condominium regulation, every absent, dissenting or abstaining owner may apply to the court seeking annulment within the peremptory term of thirty days. The same rule sets two different starting points: for dissenters and abstainers the term runs from the date of the resolution, for absent owners from the date they receive communication of the minutes.

When it starts for dissenters and abstainers

Those who attended the meeting and voted against, or abstained, already know the content of the resolution when it is approved. For these positions the thirty-day term therefore runs from the date of the meeting. There is no need to wait for the minutes to be communicated: direct knowledge makes any notice unnecessary. Anyone who took part must act promptly, counting the days from the meeting itself.

When it starts for absent owners

An absent owner had no way to learn of the resolution in real time. For this reason the law starts the thirty days from the date the minutes are communicated to them. The communication must be effective and relate to the content of the decision: it is the minutes, not a generic notice, that triggers the term. If the communication does not arrive or is irregular, the term does not begin for the absent owner, whose position remains protected for longer.

The forfeiture nature of the term

The thirty-day term is a forfeiture term, not a limitation term. The difference is substantial. A forfeiture term is not interrupted by a simple out-of-court request and does not allow suspensions beyond the cases set by law: to meet it you must perform the required act by the deadline. Once the threshold passes, the right to obtain annulment is extinguished even if the resolution actually has an annullability defect.

Only annullable resolutions are subject to the term

The thirty-day term applies only to annullable resolutions, that is those affected by formal or procedural defects, such as irregularities in the notice of meeting or in counting the majorities. Null resolutions, on the other hand, for example those lacking essential elements, with impossible or unlawful subject matter, or affecting individual rights without the consent of the person concerned, can be raised at any time by anyone with an interest. Before calculating the term you must therefore classify the defect correctly.

Mandatory mediation and the term

Before challenging a condominium resolution in court, mandatory mediation must be attempted, as a condition for the claim to proceed. Filing the mediation request, if done before the deadline, prevents forfeiture: the owner must therefore act within the thirty days not necessarily with the court claim, but with the mediation request properly filed. It is a step not to forget, because a mediation started out of time does not save the challenge.

Practical tips to avoid missing the deadline

To manage the term without risk it helps to keep some information under control:

• the exact date of the meeting, for dissenters and abstainers
• the date the minutes were received for absent owners, with proof of delivery
• the classification of the defect, to distinguish annullability from nullity
• the deadline to file the mandatory mediation request
• keeping proxies, notices of meeting and minutes, useful in case of dispute

AmministraPro records the date of each meeting and tracks the sending and receipt of the minutes to owners, so it is always clear when the term starts for each of them. You can see how meeting management works on the /funzioni page and compare the available plans in /prezzi.