Practical guide
Safety and maintenance duties step by step
Looking after the ordinary maintenance of the common parts and performing the conservation acts needed to preserve their integrity and safety is among the tasks Article 1130 of the Italian Civil Code assigns to the manager. Building safety is not an abstract subject: it concerns electrical systems, lifts, heating plants, structural parts and every common element whose defect can cause harm to people or property, with possible liability of the condominium as custodian. Organising periodic checks, scheduling maintenance and keeping a reliable deadline schedule is what lets the manager prevent risks rather than chase them. This guide offers a step-by-step method to handle safety and maintenance duties in an orderly way.
Common elements to keep under control
- Electrical system and earthing of the common parts
- Lift, with the periodic checks required by sector regulations
- Centralised heating plant and its controls
- Structural parts, facades, balconies and roofs
- Fire-safety devices and escape routes where required
The manager's responsibility for safety
Article 1130 of the Italian Civil Code requires the manager to pay the expenses for ordinary maintenance of the common parts and to perform the related conservation acts. Alongside this is the condominium's position as custodian of the common parts under Article 2051 of the Italian Civil Code: the custodian is liable for damage caused by the thing in custody, save for a fortuitous event. From this follows a strong interest in preventing defects before they turn into damage.
The manager need not possess specialist technical skills, but must organise themselves to have qualified professionals carry out the necessary checks and works, keep the documentation and report to the meeting when decisions and funds are needed. Their responsibility is one of diligent organisation, not of physical execution.
Step 1: inventory plants and common parts
The first step is knowing what needs to be kept safe. An up-to-date inventory lists the common plants and their features: electrical system and earthing, lift, heating plant, pressure tank, water system, fire-safety devices, roofs and facades. For each one the operator or maintainer, the contracts in place and the available technical documentation are noted.
Without this map it is impossible to schedule checks: one ends up intervening only when something breaks. The inventory is also the basis for the handover, because the successor must be able to know the state of the plants immediately.
Step 2: schedule periodic checks and maintenance
Many plants are subject to mandatory periodic checks under the technical sector regulations, with intervals and qualified parties defined by their respective rules. The lift, for example, undergoes periodic checks entrusted to competent bodies; heating plants follow the efficiency and safety controls provided by the applicable rules. The manager need not know every interval by heart, but must ensure that someone respects it.
Scheduling in advance, with a calendar of deadlines and maintenance contracts with qualified maintainers, turns safety from an emergency into a routine. Preventive maintenance costs less than corrective maintenance and reduces the risk of sudden breakdowns and disputes.
Step 3: manage urgent works and building sites
When a danger emerges, the manager can and must perform urgent conservation acts even without waiting for the meeting, within the limits of their powers, to avoid harm. Fencing off a portion of an unstable facade or making a faulty plant safe fall among these acts. The manager will then report the expense and reasons to the owners.
When works amount to a building site, the safety obligations proper to that context come into play, which may involve appointing technical figures and duties on the client. In these cases the manager, acting on behalf of the condominium as client, must rely on competent professionals and verify that the obligations are fulfilled.
Step 4: keep the deadline schedule and documentation
The key to it all is the deadline schedule: a register of check and maintenance deadlines that flags in good time what to do, on which plant and at what interval, together with the archive of inspection reports and certificates. This documentation proves the manager's diligence and is useful in the event of an incident or dispute.
Keeping deadlines and documents on separate sheets is fragile: a single oversight can let a mandatory check lapse. AmministraPro gathers plants, contracts and deadlines in a single schedule, sends reminders before each check and stores the technical documents linked to each common element, helping the manager show they have managed safety with diligence. The features for maintenance and deadlines are described on the /funzioni page, while the plans are on /prezzi.
Frequently asked questions
Is the manager liable for damage caused by the common parts?
The condominium is custodian of the common parts under Article 2051 of the Italian Civil Code and is liable for damage they cause, save for a fortuitous event. The manager, who manages the common parts on the condominium's behalf, has a duty to organise checks and maintenance: their diligence in acting is decisive in preventing damage and in the allocation of responsibility.
Are mandatory periodic checks needed on the plants?
Yes, several common plants are subject to periodic checks under the technical sector regulations, with intervals and qualified parties defined by their respective rules, as in the case of lifts and heating plants. The manager must ensure these checks are carried out by competent professionals and keep the documentation.
Can the manager order urgent works without a meeting?
Yes, within their powers. Article 1130 of the Italian Civil Code entrusts them with conservation acts on the common parts, and faced with an imminent danger they can arrange the urgent works needed to avoid harm, reporting afterwards to the meeting. Non-urgent works and significant expenses remain, instead, within the meeting's competence.
What does a building site for condominium works involve?
When works amount to a building site, the safety obligations proper to that context come into play, which may include appointing technical figures and duties on the client. The manager acts on behalf of the condominium as client and must rely on competent professionals, verifying that the required obligations are correctly fulfilled.
How is diligent safety management demonstrated?
Through documentation: an inventory of plants, maintenance contracts, periodic inspection reports, certificates and a schedule proving the planning of works. An orderly, updated and easily consultable archive is the concrete proof of the manager's diligence in the event of an incident or dispute.
Try AmministraPro
Accounting, thousandths-based cost splitting, meetings, communications and artificial intelligence in a single Italian software, compliant with UNI 10801 and GDPR.