Voting for a Jointly Inherited Unit at the Meeting

When a property unit passes by inheritance to several heirs, it becomes jointly owned by all of them, but at the meeting it no longer generates several votes. Article 67 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code establishes that the co-owners of the same unit are entitled to a single representative at the meeting, appointed by the co-owners concerned. If they cannot agree on the appointment, the representative is designated under the rules on co-ownership, that is under Articles 1105 and 1106 of the Italian Civil Code, with possible intervention by the court.

Inherited co-ownership and undivided property

On the owner's death, if there is more than one heir and the estate has not yet been divided, the flat enters into inherited co-ownership: each heir holds a notional share of the whole, not a determined physical portion. In condominium terms this means the unit remains a single one, with its thousandths, and the heirs are joint holders of the same right to take part in the meeting. Each heir's share matters in the internal relations among heirs, but does not multiply the votes towards the condominium.

A single representative for the unit

The single-representative rule serves to keep the meeting workable and to prevent the same unit from casting conflicting votes. The co-owners name one person, who may be one of them or a third party holding a proxy, who attends, discusses and votes for the unit's entire thousandths share. The representative casts one vote, with the weight of the flat's thousandths, and not as many fractions as there are heirs.

• A co-owned unit is entitled to a single representative at the meeting
• The representative is appointed by the co-owners, possibly from among themselves
• The vote counts for the unit's entire thousandths share, not for the individual inheritance shares
• In the event of disagreement, the co-ownership rules of Articles 1105 and 1106 apply

How the representative is appointed

The appointment follows the co-ownership rules. For acts of ordinary administration, which include appointing the meeting representative, Article 1105 requires a majority of the participants calculated on the value of the shares. The heirs may therefore name the representative by a majority of shares, without the need for unanimity. It is good practice for the appointment to be evidenced by a written act or proxy, so that the manager can verify the standing of whoever appears at the meeting.

What happens if the heirs disagree

If the co-owners fail to reach a majority of shares to appoint the representative, or if management is paralysed, Article 1105 allows each participant to apply to the judicial authority to adopt the necessary measures and, in the most serious cases, appoint an administrator of the common asset. The condominium meeting, for its part, cannot decide for the heirs: it must simply recognise whoever has been validly appointed, or take note of the failure to appoint.

Notice and communications to the co-owned unit

The manager must convene the co-owned unit by having the notice reach the co-owners. In practice it is advisable to keep the condominium ownership register updated with the details of all known heirs, so that the notice can be sent in a way suitable to prove receipt. If a standing representative has been appointed, the notice may be addressed to them, but it is prudent to keep evidence of the appointment.

Expenses and liability of the heirs

For condominium expenses the heirs are liable in proportion to their respective inheritance shares, save for internal agreements. Towards the condominium the unit remains a single one and the instalments relate to its thousandths; the split among heirs then follows the succession shares. Keeping the relationship towards the condominium separate from the internal relations among heirs avoids confusion in reminders and accounts.

Managing jointly inherited units calls for accurate ownership records and the correct link between representative, co-owners and voting thousandths. AmministraPro lets you record the joint holders, the appointed representative and the unit's voting weight, simplifying notices and allocations: the features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans can be compared on the /prezzi page.