The Developer's Vote for Unsold Units in a Condominium

The developer who built the building and has not yet sold all the units remains the owner of the unsold ones and, for them, is an owner for all purposes. It has the right to attend and vote at the meeting in proportion to the thousandths (millesimi) of the units it owns, and is required to contribute to common expenses in the same measure. Its position can be numerically significant in the early life of the condominium, when many units are still its own: that is why the law provides correctives and the other owners have safeguards.

When the condominium comes into being

The condominium does not come into being when the building is constructed, but at the moment when at least one unit is transferred to a person other than the developer. From that first sale the building has more than one owner and co-ownership arises over the common parts listed in Article 1117 of the Italian Civil Code. Until then the sole owner is the developer and there is no condominium in the technical sense. With the first transfer, instead, the conditions arise to convene the meeting and, once the statutory thresholds are exceeded, to appoint the manager.

The developer votes for the units it retains

For each unit still in its ownership the developer keeps a full right to vote. If it holds the majority of the thousandths, it can steer many meeting decisions. This is entirely lawful, because the vote follows ownership, but it should be borne in mind that the developer's thousandths do not add up beyond what belongs to it: it votes for what it owns, exactly like any other owner. The units already sold, instead, vote through their new owners.

The dual criterion as a counterweight

The condominium system provides a dual criterion for the validity of resolutions: the number of those attending and the thousandths value, under Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code. This dual requirement softens the weight of someone who holds many thousandths but is a single head. A developer with the majority of the value, for example, cannot on its own reach the quorums that also require a majority by head count. The head-and-thousandths mechanism thus works as a safeguard against the dominant position of a single large owner.

The developer's expense obligations

The right to vote is matched by the duty to contribute. The developer pays common expenses for the unsold units in proportion to the thousandths, like any owner. It cannot escape by arguing that the units are vacant or unused: the duty to share in general expenses arises from ownership, not from actual use. Expenses linked to the use of a service, instead, follow their own criteria, so a unit that does not benefit from a given service may not share in the related expenses under the principles of Article 1123.

The other owners' protections

Those who have bought in a condominium still with a strong developer presence have some safeguards:

• The dual criterion by head and thousandths, which prevents a single owner from controlling every resolution alone
• The right of each owner to request that the meeting be convened in the cases provided by law
• Challenging resolutions contrary to the law or the regulations under Article 1137 of the Italian Civil Code
• The possibility of obtaining the appointment of the manager in court when the meeting fails to do so and the conditions are met

These safeguards operate from the moment the condominium exists, that is from the first sale, and do not depend on the number of units still held by the developer.

Regulations drawn up by the developer

It is common for the developer to draw up condominium regulations and refer to them in the purchase deeds. When accepted by the individual buyers in their respective contracts, these regulations take on a contractual nature and may also contain clauses derogating from the statutory allocation criteria or governing the use of exclusive property. Buyers are well advised to read them carefully before purchase, because their provisions bind them and later amendment may require everyone's consent.

In the initial phase, with ownership still concentrated and arrangements evolving, keeping the register of units and their thousandths up to date is decisive for calculating the correct quorums at each meeting. A management system such as AmministraPro records ownership transfers, updates the shares and sets up compliant notices, so as to govern without errors a body that changes quickly. The features are described on the funzioni page and the plans on the prezzi page.