Practical guide
Calculating thousandths for a new building
When a building is handed over for the first time, the condominium starts without any accounting history but with the legal duty, under article 68 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code, to adopt millesimal tables within the first year of management. The calculation is not a routine clerical task: it fixes, for years to come, the weight each unit carries in common expenses, in assembly votes and in the allocation of extraordinary costs. This guide explains the technical criteria that apply, who must draft the tables, how approval is reached at the assembly, and how to enter the values into management software without errors that would carry forward for years.
The formation criterion: proportional value of the units
Article 68 of the implementing provisions states that thousandths express the proportional value of each unit compared with the value of the whole building, not the floor area in square meters and not the number of rooms. In a new building the appointed surveyor applies the comparative synthetic method, also typical of the UNI 10801 practice, which integrates usable floor area with correction coefficients.
Standard coefficients account for floor level, a penthouse and a ground floor unit carry different weight at equal floor area, exposure and natural light, orientation, balconies or terraces with their own reduced conversion coefficient compared with main rooms, and intended use when residential, retail and office units coexist in the same building.
For common parts serving only a limited group of units, such as a stairwell serving only some floors or an elevator installed in a single wing of the building, separate millesimal tables are formed, stairwell tables, elevator table, alongside the general ownership table. This is the most frequent mistake in new multi-block buildings, where a single table would end up charging every unit for expenses that concern only part of the building.
Who drafts the tables and when they become mandatory
Drafting is entrusted to a licensed surveyor, engineer, architect or geometra, appointed by the developer or the property manager, who surveys floor plans, ceiling heights, orientation and intended use for each unit. In practice, for newly built buildings the developer often prepares an initial draft during the sales phase, but that draft has no legal value until it passes assembly review.
The duty to adopt the tables arises when the condominium is established, which happens as soon as at least two units belong to different owners. From that moment the property manager, if already appointed, or the developer must act, because the one year term set by article 68 is not treated as merely indicative in practice: the absence of approved tables exposes expense allocation to continuous disputes.
Approval at the assembly: majority and challengeability
After the 2012 reform, article 69 of the Civil Code clarifies that approving or revising millesimal tables, when the change stems from a mere calculation error or from applying the legal criteria, does not require unanimity: the qualified majority set out in the second paragraph of article 1136 is sufficient, meaning the majority of those attending who represent at least half the value of the building.
Unanimity remains necessary only when the revision changes the drafting criteria themselves by agreement among the owners, not to correct a technical error or to adjust values following a change in the condition of part of the building, for example the addition of an extra floor. The approved table must be attached to the minutes as an integral part, with the surveyor who drafted it identified, so it can be relied upon against future buyers of the units.
An approved table remains valid until one of the exhaustive grounds for revision listed in article 69 occurs: an error, a variation of more than one fifth in the proportional value of even a single unit due to building works, or the merger or splitting of units.
Entering thousandths into the management software
Once approved by the assembly, the table must be loaded into the accounting software before generating any budget or statement, because every subsequent allocation will use it as its calculation base. It is worth recording the general ownership table and any special tables, stairwell, elevator, independent heating, separately, linking each expense to the correct table at the moment it is entered in the ledger.
With AmministraPro the millesimal table of a new building is loaded once per unit and stays automatically linked to every allocation generated afterward, including multiple tables per stairwell or per service when the building has several blocks. This avoids repeating the entry at every statement and reduces the most common error, applying the general table to an expense that in fact concerns only part of the building.
Frequently asked questions
Are thousandths calculated on floor area in square meters?
No. Article 68 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code states that thousandths express the proportional value of each unit compared with the value of the whole building. Usable floor area is only the starting point: the surveyor then applies correction coefficients for floor level, exposure, natural light, balconies or terraces and intended use, so two units of the same size can end up with different thousandths.
Who pays for drafting the millesimal tables of a new building?
In practice, for newly built buildings the initial cost falls on the developer, who appoints the surveyor before or during the sale of the units. If a later revision becomes necessary because of an error or building works that alter the proportional values under article 69 of the Civil Code, the cost falls on the condominium as a common expense, unless the cause is attributable to a single owner.
Does approving the millesimal tables require unanimity?
Not always. After the 2012 reform, article 69 of the Civil Code provides that approving or revising tables based on a calculation error or on applying the legal criteria requires only the qualified majority under article 1136, second paragraph. Unanimity remains necessary only if the owners want to change the drafting criteria by agreement, not to correct a technical error.
What happens if a new condominium never approves its millesimal tables?
Without approved tables, expenses are allocated on a provisional basis, often according to the values shown in the purchase deeds or a developer's draft, but this exposes every allocation to disputes: any owner can always request the assembly to form the tables or, in case of inaction, apply to the court to order them drafted.
How are separate tables managed for a building with several stairwells?
Alongside the general ownership table, which allocates expenses concerning the whole building, separate tables are formed for common parts with limited use: one for each stairwell serving only some floors, one for an elevator if it does not serve all units. Software such as AmministraPro lets you link each expense to the correct specific table, avoiding charges to everyone for costs that concern only part of the building.
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