Practical guide
Managing a condominium under construction
A condominium under construction, or one that has just been handed over to buyers, goes through a delicate phase before ordinary management begins. The developer has usually drafted a contractual regulation and provisional millesimal tables, but no assembly has yet ratified rules shared by the actual owners. In this phase, civil law obligations, the seller's commercial practices, and buyers' first practical needs, such as systems still to be tested or common areas still to be finished, all overlap. Knowing what is already binding and what still needs a resolution prevents future disputes and lets the condominium start on solid ground, with transparent management from day one.
The developer's regulation: what binds and what does not
When a developer sells individual units, it often prepares a condominium regulation attached to, or expressly referenced in, the purchase deeds. If the regulation is referenced in the deed and the buyer accepts it by signing, that regulation acquires a contractual nature and binds all buyers, including clauses that limit the use of common areas or impose specific uses on individual units.
Clauses concerning purely administrative management, such as expense allocation criteria or assembly convening procedures, are different: to become truly and definitively binding, they must be adopted by the assembly with the majorities set out in Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code. Until then, they operate as de facto rules useful for getting management started, but they remain changeable once the assembly is constituted.
It is advisable for the administrator, from the very first contact with owners, to clearly separate the two categories: what is already contractually binding and what is instead an agenda item for the first assembly.
Provisional millesimal tables: a starting point, not a fixed point
Developers usually attach provisional millesimal tables, calculated from design plans and specifications, before the building is finished and tested. These tables allow common expenses to be allocated immediately, but they remain subject to revision: Article 69 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code allows the tables to be corrected or revised when they turn out to be the result of an essential error, or when the conditions of part of the building have changed, for instance following additional floors, extensions or changes of use.
Before adopting the tables definitively, it is worth checking that they genuinely reflect the actual size of the units, including any changes made during construction compared with the original design. An error in the initial tables can be carried forward for years in the budgets if it is not caught at this stage.
Digital management that keeps track of the provisional tables and flags any later revisions, as AmministraPro allows, helps keep consistency between the millesimal shares applied and the resolutions that modify them over time.
Establishing the condominium and appointing the administrator
In Italy, a condominium is automatically established when a building has more than one owner and common parts under Article 1117 of the Civil Code: no formal founding deed is needed. Appointing an administrator becomes mandatory when there are more than eight unit owners, under Article 1129 of the Civil Code, and it is strongly recommended even with fewer owners when the building is complex or its systems require ongoing technical management.
During the handover of units, the developer itself often appoints a first administrator, on a provisional basis, to handle urgent matters such as shared utilities, insurance and initial maintenance work. Unless confirmed by the assembly, this appointment also remains transitional.
The first assembly: what it must resolve
The first condominium assembly typically has a broader agenda than usual, because it needs to put in order everything left open during construction. In particular it must confirm or replace the administrator appointed by the developer, definitively approve or arrange the revision of the provisional millesimal tables, and adopt or amend the management sections of the regulation prepared by the seller.
It is also the occasion to take stock of common parts still to be completed or tested, such as elevators, green areas or video surveillance systems, and to define who should follow up their completion with the developer, if it is still bound by contract or warranty.
Convening this assembly correctly, with a complete agenda and a notice sent within the terms of Article 66 of the implementing provisions, reduces the risk of later challenges to the resolutions. A platform such as AmministraPro supports the administrator in managing the owners' registry, convening the assembly and drafting the minutes right from this first meeting, when the data is still being consolidated.
- Confirmation or replacement of the administrator
- Approval or revision of the provisional millesimal tables
- Adoption of the management sections of the developer's regulation
- Review of common parts still to be completed
- Setting up the expense fund and opening the condominium bank account
Frequently asked questions
Is the developer's regulation binding on all owners?
It is when it is referenced in the purchase deed and the buyer signs it: in that case it has contractual nature and binds even the most restrictive clauses on the use of common areas. Clauses of a purely management nature, such as expense allocation criteria, remain fully changeable by the assembly with the majorities set out in Article 1136 of the Civil Code, since they do not concern property rights but the organization of condominium life.
When can provisional millesimal tables be corrected?
Article 69 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code allows the tables to be corrected or revised when they turn out to result from an essential error, or when the conditions of part of the building have changed, for instance following construction changes compared with the original design. It is advisable to review the developer's provisional tables at the first assembly, before they are applied unchecked for years.
Is an administrator needed from the moment units are handed over?
The appointment is mandatory by law when there are more than eight owners, under Article 1129 of the Civil Code. With fewer owners it remains optional, but it is still advisable when the building has shared systems to manage, such as elevators or central heating, or when issues with the developer remain open, to ensure continuity and a single point of contact for suppliers.
What should the agenda of the first assembly include?
It should include confirming or replacing the administrator possibly appointed by the developer, definitively approving or revising the provisional millesimal tables, adopting the management sections of the contractual regulation, reviewing common parts still to be completed or tested, and opening the condominium bank account, as provided for by Article 1129 of the Civil Code.
How can this initial phase be managed with digital tools?
A software such as AmministraPro allows the owners' registry, the provisional millesimal tables and any later revisions to be entered from the start, the first assembly to be convened with a complete agenda, and the developer's regulation together with the minutes that later confirm or amend it to be kept in a single digital archive.
Try AmministraPro
Accounting, thousandths-based cost splitting, meetings, communications and artificial intelligence in a single Italian software, compliant with UNI 10801 and GDPR.