Practical regulations
Managing common parts in a new condominium
A newly built condominium starts with a typical problem: the common parts already exist physically, stairs, courtyard, systems, flat roof, but their legal and accounting management still has to be built from scratch. The developer usually hands over bylaws drafted unilaterally, the value tables come from the design stage and do not always reflect actual use, and the first owners' meeting has to put order into all of this before disputes arise. This guide explains, step by step, how the condominium is correctly established, what to check in the developer's bylaws, how the value tables are validated, and which decisions to take at the first meeting, referencing the relevant articles of the Italian Civil Code.
Establishing the condominium and identifying common parts
Under Italian law, a condominium is established automatically the moment a building with shared parts is divided among multiple owners, with no need for a founding deed. Article 1117 of the Civil Code lists common parts by presumption: the land the building stands on, foundations, load bearing walls, staircases, entrance doors, lobbies, porches, courtyards, roofs and flat roofs, plus the systems providing water, gas and electricity access and telecommunication lines up to the point where they branch off toward individually owned units.
In a new building the first practical step is comparing the legal list with the actual project layout: some spaces, such as a room intended for a concierge service that was never built, or a green area, can remain ambiguous between the developer's exclusive property and common property. Clarifying this before the last units are sold prevents later disputes, since the presumption of common ownership under article 1117 can only be overcome by an express contrary title, not by simple practice.
The developer's bylaws: what to check
In most new condominiums the bylaws are drafted by the developer and attached to each individual purchase deed, which makes them binding on all buyers even without a later approval by the owners' meeting, as long as they are expressly referenced in the contract. Besides rules on the use of common parts, this type of bylaws can also include clauses limiting owners' rights, for example restrictions on intended use, pets, or professional activities: to be truly enforceable, such clauses must be expressly accepted, not merely incorporated by a generic reference.
A newly appointed administrator and the owners should reread the developer's bylaws with attention to three points: consistency with the list of common parts in article 1117, the allocation of maintenance costs, which must follow the criteria of article 1123, in proportion to each unit's value unless use differs, and any clause the developer may have inserted in its own favor, such as reserving exclusive use of parts the law presumes to be common. At the first meeting the owners can approve, with the majorities set by article 1136, a resolution based set of bylaws that integrates or replaces the developer's version for anything not contractually binding.
Value tables: from design calculation to validation
The value tables (tabelle millesimali) of a new condominium are usually produced from a technical calculation attached to the developer's bylaws, based on the surface area, height, orientation and intended use of each unit. Article 68 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code establishes that the proportional value of each unit is expressed in thousandths in a dedicated table attached to the bylaws.
Before treating them as final, it is worth having the tables checked by a surveyor engaged independently by the condominium, rather than the developer's own technician, looking in particular for units that meanwhile underwent changes, subdivisions, mergers, or a change of intended use, compared with the original project. Under article 69 of the implementing provisions, the tables can be corrected or revised, with the qualified majority required, when they result from a calculation error, or when conditions of part of the building have changed enough to alter the proportional value of even a single unit by more than one fifth.
- Check that cadastral floor plans match the tables attached to the bylaws
- Verify units with mixed intended use, commercial and residential, and how they were weighted
- Report any material calculation errors promptly, before they become a source of dispute among owners
- Distinguish general ownership tables from any service tables, such as lift or heating, which follow different criteria
The first owners' meeting: appointing the administrator and founding decisions
The first meeting of a new condominium matters more than an ordinary one, because it sets choices that shape the following years. The mandatory starting point, if not already done, is appointing the administrator: article 1129 makes this compulsory whenever there are more than eight owners, and once appointed the administrator must, among other things, open a dedicated condominium bank account and share their contact details with the owners.
At the same meeting it is advisable to approve or discuss the bylaws, if not already binding by contract, check the status of the developer's warranties on systems and common parts before the deadlines to raise defects expire, start building the fund for ordinary and extraordinary expenses, and schedule the first mandatory technical inspections on the systems, lifts, electrical systems, any centralized heating plant. Using a management tool that keeps accounting per building and per common part from day one, such as AmministraPro, helps prevent the information gathered at this early stage from getting lost across the handovers between different administrators that often happen in a condominium's first years.
Frequently asked questions
Are the developer's bylaws automatically valid without the owners' meeting approving them?
Yes, provided they are expressly referenced in each unit's purchase deed: in that case they bind every buyer as a contractual clause, with no need for a later approving resolution. The situation differs for clauses that limit owners' rights or grant exclusive use over parts presumed to be common: to be enforceable, these must result from a specific acceptance, not a generic reference to the bylaws text. The owners' meeting can still later amend the parts that are not contractually binding, with the majorities set by article 1136 of the Civil Code.
Who pays for maintaining common parts in the first months, before an administrator is appointed?
Until an administrator is appointed, which is mandatory beyond eight owners under article 1129, urgent expenses for preserving common parts can be advanced by any single owner, who is then entitled to reimbursement according to the allocation criteria of article 1123, in proportion to the thousandth value unless use of the asset differs. It is still advisable to appoint an administrator quickly, both to manage accounting properly and to open the dedicated condominium bank account required by law.
Can the value tables handed over by the developer be changed later?
Yes, article 69 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code allows the tables to be revised when they result from a calculation error, or when conditions of part of the building have changed enough to alter the proportional value of even a single unit by more than one fifth. Correcting an error requires a different majority than adjusting for changed conditions: it is worth having a surveyor verify the situation before bringing the point to the meeting, so owners are presented with an already prepared proposal.
What happens if part of the building is not clearly listed among the common parts under article 1117?
Article 1117 lists common parts by presumption: absent an express contrary title, typically the purchase deed or the contractual bylaws, the space is considered common. In a new condominium it is worth clarifying these doubtful cases already at the first meeting, checking the purchase deeds of individual units and, if needed, recording the shared interpretation in the minutes, so as to prevent disputes once the building is fully sold and the relationship between developer and owners has ended.
Is it worth using condominium management software from the moment the condominium is established?
Yes, setting up digital management of accounting and documentation, bylaws, value tables, minutes, developer warranties, from the start prevents information from being lost across handovers between different administrators, which happens often in the first years of a new condominium. Platforms such as AmministraPro let you upload the value tables from the first meeting onward, keep accounting per common part, and automatically generate expense allocations according to the criteria of article 1123, reducing the margin for error compared with a manually managed spreadsheet.
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