How to handle a change of apartment ownership

Who must notify the change of ownership, and when

Notifying the property manager is not optional. Article 1130, paragraph 1, number 6, of the Italian civil code requires the manager to keep an owners registry containing the personal and land registry details of every unit owner, including ownership rights and usage rights. For the registry to be accurate, whoever transfers the property must report the change, and in practice it is advisable that both seller and buyer do so, indicating the date of the notarial deed or its registration.

The most effective notification in practice is one accompanied by a copy of the notarial deed or an updated land registry extract, sent by certified email or delivered with a receipt. Without a formal notification, the manager keeps treating the former owner as the unit holder for meeting notices and payment requests, with the concrete risk that assembly resolutions become challengeable for defective notice if the new owner was not properly informed instead.

It is useful for the deed to state explicitly the date from which condominium charges fall on the new owner, so the moment of transfer is unambiguous even in the internal dealings between the parties.

Updating the owners registry and its practical consequences

Once notified, the manager must update the owners registry without delay: the new owner's name, land registry details, any co owners, and must retain documentation proving the date of transfer, since that date is what determines who owes which installments and who receives meeting notices.

A common mistake is updating the registry only at the next scheduled assembly. This exposes the manager to challenges if expenditure resolutions or payment requests are issued in the meantime addressed to the wrong party. The more solid operational approach is to update the registry as soon as the notification arrives, regardless of the assembly calendar, and to keep documentary evidence of every step.

Management software such as AmministraPro allows recording the effective date of an ownership change for each unit and automatically applying the cost split from the correct date, reducing the risk of manual errors when allocating installments between seller and buyer.

Splitting balances between seller and buyer

The general rule, unless the parties agree otherwise in the sale deed, is that ordinary expenses approved before the date of the notarial deed remain the responsibility of whoever owned the unit at the time of the assembly resolution approving them, following the principle that the contribution obligation arises with the expenditure resolution, not with the actual disbursement of the expense (a settled principle in case law, including the Italian Supreme Court sitting in joint sections, ruling number 9148/2008).

For extraordinary expenses the criterion is similar: whoever owned the unit at the time of the resolution approving the works remains liable to the condominium, even if actual payment occurs after the deed, unless the sale agreement expressly provides for the buyer to assume the debt. It is therefore good practice, both for the notary and for the manager, to check before the deed whether any extraordinary expenditure resolutions have already been approved and not yet settled, so the accounts between the parties can be regulated within the deed itself.

Upon request, the manager should issue a certificate or statement attesting to the accounting position of the unit, including any past arrears and pending extraordinary expenditure resolutions. This document protects both seller and buyer and reduces the risk of later disputes.

The joint liability under article 63 of the implementing provisions

Article 63, second paragraph, of the implementing provisions of the Italian civil code states that whoever succeeds to the rights of a unit owner is jointly liable with that owner for contributions relating to the current year and the previous one. This means the buyer can be asked by the condominium to pay the seller's outstanding debts for the current and previous year, and can then seek reimbursement from the seller through a separate civil claim.

For this reason it is essential that, before the deed, the buyer requests an updated statement from the manager on the unit's debt position, and that this statement is attached to or referenced within the notarial deed. A preventive check avoids surprises and allows negotiating a price reduction or an escrow arrangement if needed.

Frequently asked questions