Comparisons
Single manager or structured practice for the condominium
When the assembly has to appoint or renew its manager, the choice is not just about the individual it trusts, but also about the structure behind the appointment. A professional working alone offers a direct, continuous relationship with residents, but exposes the building to service gaps during illness, extended leave or if the professional ceases activity. A practice with several staff members offers coverage and distributed expertise, usually at the cost of a less personal relationship and a higher fee. Italian civil code article 1129 imposes identical obligations on both models, from the dedicated bank account to the condominium register, but the way those obligations are met differs. The right choice depends on building size and management complexity.
Compared
| Criterion | Single manager | Structured practice |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity during absence | Depends on personal availability, no substitute required by law | Coverage through other staff members |
| Relationship with residents | Direct and continuous with one contact | Spread across several people, less personal |
| Breadth of specialist expertise | Concentrated in one professional | Distributed across staff with different specializations |
| Typical cost for the building | Generally more contained | Generally higher due to organizational structure |
| Fit for small, simple buildings | Often sufficient | Can be oversized |
| Fit for multi-building complexes or complex management | May struggle with case volume | Better suited to handling higher volumes |
What to assess before choosing at the assembly
- Number of units and complexity of the building's systems
- Extraordinary matters underway, such as renovations with tax deductions
- How the candidate ensures continuity during personal absence
- Initial training and periodic refresher requirements under article 71 bis
- Clarity on compliance with article 1129 obligations, from the dedicated account to the condominium register
- Use of digital tools for document and accounting management, independent of one person
- Transparency on the fee requested relative to services actually provided
- Verifiable references on buildings of similar size to the one deciding
Service continuity and handling absences
The most delicate issue is what happens when a sole manager is unavailable: prolonged illness, an unforeseen event or simply a holiday can leave the building without a point of contact for days. There is no legal requirement for an individual manager to appoint a substitute, so in practice the building depends on that person's personal availability, especially for emergencies such as a system failure or water infiltration.
A structured practice, by contrast, spreads casework across several staff members: if the usual contact is away, a colleague can step in without interruption on emergencies and current deadlines. This does not mean a practice is always preferable: for a small building with few units and straightforward issues, a direct relationship with one professional can matter more than organizational redundancy.
Breadth of expertise the role requires
Modern condominium management touches very different areas: accounting and cost allocation by ownership shares, tax matters linked to deductions and communications to the tax authority, system safety under technical standards, privacy in handling residents' data under GDPR, and relationships with suppliers and contractors for common area maintenance.
A sole manager can handle the relational side and run assemblies well, but rarely has the same depth across every specialist area. A practice with staff dedicated to accounting, technical files or tax matters can offer more precise answers on complex issues, such as a multi-building complex or a renovation project with tax deductions to manage correctly.
Qualification and training obligations apply to both models
Article 71 bis of the implementing provisions of the civil code sets the requirements to act as a manager, including initial training and periodic refresher courses: these obligations apply equally to a sole professional and to someone working within a practice. The organizational structure does not replace the personal qualification of whoever signs the acts and answers to the assembly.
What changes is the possibility, within a practice, of spreading ongoing training across several people specialized in different areas, while a sole manager must maintain broad preparation across every subject the role requires on their own.
- Initial training and periodic refresher courses are mandatory regardless of the organizational structure
- The condominium register and dedicated bank account required by article 1129 apply regardless of the model
- Responsibility toward the assembly always rests with whoever signs the appointment, even when operational work is shared among staff
Cost and proportionality relative to building size
A practice with several staff members typically carries a higher cost structure, reflected in the fee charged to the building: it supports personnel, premises and internal organization. For a small building with simple management and few extraordinary matters, this additional cost may not be justified by the actual benefit.
For larger buildings, multi-building complexes or properties with technologically significant systems, the proportion reverses: the larger structure allows handling volumes of casework and deadlines that a sole professional would struggle to manage with the same quality, reducing the risk of errors or delays in mandatory communications.
Digital tools: the factor that narrows the gap between the two models
Adopting condominium management software such as AmministraPro partly narrows the gap between the two models, because it centralizes accounting, cost allocation by shares, resident communications and document storage in one environment accessible from multiple locations. A sole manager using such a tool can maintain continuity even during a temporary absence, because data and files remain accessible and do not depend on personal notes or scattered files.
For a structured practice, the same tool makes handovers between staff on the same building easier, preventing important information from residing in only one person's head. Either way, the choice of organizational model remains secondary to the quality of the management process actually put in place.
Frequently asked questions
Is a sole manager legally required to designate a substitute during absences?
No, the civil code does not require an individual manager to appoint a substitute for their own absences. Service continuity in these cases depends on the professional's personal organization, not on a specific legal obligation. This is why, when choosing a manager, it is worth asking explicitly how emergencies are handled when the manager is unavailable, including whether digital tools make files accessible to others if needed.
Does a practice with multiple staff always offer better service than a sole professional?
No, it depends on the size and complexity of the building. For a small building with simple management, a sole manager with a solid working method can offer a more direct relationship and a lower cost without sacrificing quality. The larger structure of a practice becomes a concrete advantage mainly for large buildings, multi-building complexes or situations with many extraordinary matters underway.
Do the training requirements under article 71 bis differ between a sole manager and a practice?
No, the initial training and periodic refresher requirements set by the implementing provisions of the civil code apply equally to someone managing alone and to someone working within a structured practice. What changes is only the possibility, within a practice, of spreading ongoing training across several staff specialized in different areas, while a sole professional must maintain broad preparation across every area of management.
Can software like AmministraPro offset the organizational limits of a sole manager?
It can reduce them significantly, because it centralizes accounting, cost allocation by shares, communications and document archives in one environment accessible to others if needed. This does not replace the manager's personal presence, but it prevents management continuity from depending only on notes or scattered files, and it makes a temporary handover much simpler.
Is the higher cost of a structured practice always justified?
Not always. For small buildings with simple management, a higher fee tied to a practice's organizational structure may not correspond to services actually needed. For large buildings, multi-building complexes or situations with many technical and tax matters underway, however, the practice's greater management capacity can fully justify the fee requested, reducing the risk of delays or errors in mandatory communications.
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