Practical guide
Managing shop expenses in a condominium
A ground floor shop inside a residential building often raises specific questions about expense allocation: does it pay for the elevator it never uses? Does it contribute to stair maintenance if it has its own entrance from the street? Italian condominium law, under articles 1123 and following of the civil code, distinguishes general expenses, split by ownership shares, from expenses tied to goods or services that some units do not actually benefit from, where the criterion becomes actual use. This guide explains how to set up allocation tables correctly for a shop, when bylaw exemptions apply, and how to keep accounting transparent, including with the help of management software such as AmministraPro.
The principle: ownership and benefit are two different criteria
Article 1123 of the Italian civil code sets the general rule: expenses for maintaining and enjoying common parts are split in proportion to each unit's ownership value, meaning the general ownership shares. On this baseline criterion the shop contributes like any other unit, because even a commercial space benefits from the building's structure, roof, facades, and the extraordinary maintenance that keeps it stable over time.
The second and third paragraphs of the same article introduce an important correction: when goods serve owners to different degrees, expenses are split in proportion to each owner's possible use, and when part of the building is not meant to serve certain common goods, whoever gets no benefit from them does not contribute to their maintenance costs. This is the legal foundation for how a shop's position toward the elevator, internal stairs, and similar services is determined.
Elevator and stairs: when the shop does not pay
The most common case concerns the elevator. If the shop sits on the ground floor with direct access from the street and has no need to reach upper floors, article 1124 and established case law recognize an exemption from ordinary and extraordinary elevator maintenance costs, because there is no concrete benefit. The same reasoning applies to internal condominium stairs when the shop has its own independent entrance and never uses them to access the premises or for loading and unloading.
The exemption is not automatic in every situation: if the shop also has an internal access connecting to the staircase, or uses it occasionally, for instance to reach storage on upper floors, the property manager must assess the specific case, often with the support of a technical survey or an assembly resolution documenting the lack of benefit. The dedicated allocation table for elevator and stairs, distinct from the general ownership table, is the technical tool that formalizes this distinction.
- General ownership table: applies to all ordinary and extraordinary building expenses
- Elevator allocation table: based on actual use, often zero for ground floor shops with independent access
- Stairs allocation table: same actual use criterion as the elevator
- Condominium bylaws: may set specific exemptions, provided they do not conflict with article 1123
Central heating and other differently used services
If the building has a central heating system, a shop that is not connected to it or that has its own separate system does not contribute to that expense, again based on the actual benefit criterion of article 1123. When the shop is connected to the central system instead, allocation follows heat accounting rules, based on heating shares calculated on heated volumes, with individual consumption metering where the relevant technology is installed, in line with the UNI 10200 technical standard for allocation.
The same principle applies to stair cleaning, concierge service, and other accessory services: if the shop has an independent entrance and does not use the service, the property manager can apply an exemption, recording the reason in the assembly minutes or in a contractual condominium bylaw approved unanimously.
Bylaw exemptions: what the condominium bylaws can set
A contractual condominium bylaw, meaning one drafted by the original developer or approved unanimously by all owners, can depart from the legal allocation criteria and establish specific exemptions for the shop on certain expense items. An ordinary bylaw approved by simple majority, however, cannot permanently change the criteria of article 1123: it can still record and formalize exemptions that already derive from a lack of benefit, which remain valid regardless of the bylaws because they stem directly from the law.
It is good practice for the property manager to periodically check consistency between allocation tables, bylaws, and the real situation of the property, especially when a shop changes its intended use or when new internal accesses or connections are built that change the benefit a unit draws from common goods.
Accounting and financial statements: tracking tables transparently
In daily practice, the main difficulty for a property manager is not establishing the principle but applying it correctly in every financial statement: several allocation tables must be managed at the same time, and every expense item must be charged to the correct table, otherwise the shop risks being billed unduly for the elevator or stairs, or the condominium risks losing revenue on items where the shop should actually contribute.
Property management software such as AmministraPro allows multiple allocation tables to be configured for the same building, each linked to the relevant expense items, so that allocation happens automatically according to the correct criterion for each cost category, reducing the risk of manual error and making the financial statement clearer both for the property manager and for the shop owner, who can check at any time on what basis their charge was calculated.
Frequently asked questions
Does a shop with its own independent entrance still have to pay for the condominium elevator?
Generally no, if it derives no benefit from it: article 1123 of the civil code exempts from expenses whoever cannot use a common good. However, if the shop also has an internal connection to the staircase and elevator, even if not habitually used, the property manager must assess the specific case, because the exemption requires a total absence of benefit, not merely reduced use.
Who decides whether a shop is entitled to an exemption from a condominium expense?
The assessment is primarily up to the property manager, who checks the technical situation of the building and applies the benefit criterion set by law; in case of dispute, the assembly can pass a formal resolution on the matter, and if disagreement persists the final decision rests with a court. It is useful to document the situation with floor plans or technical surveys showing the absence of connection or use of the common good.
Can the condominium bylaws force the shop to pay for the elevator anyway, even without any benefit?
Only a contractual bylaw, meaning one drafted by the original developer or approved unanimously by all owners, can depart from the legal criteria and impose an allocation different from one based on actual benefit. A bylaw approved by simple majority has no such power and cannot impose expenses on someone who derives no benefit from the common good.
How are specific elevator and stairs shares calculated when a shop is involved?
A dedicated table is built, distinct from the general ownership table, based on the potential use of the good: which floor the unit is on, how many people access it, and how often. For a ground floor shop with independent access, the value in this specific table is often zero, while the shop remains present in the general ownership table for all other building expenses.
Can software such as AmministraPro automatically manage these exemptions in the financial statement?
Yes, AmministraPro allows multiple allocation tables to be set up for the same condominium, each linked to the relevant expense items, so a shop exempted from the elevator or stairs is automatically excluded from the allocation of those specific items, while it continues to correctly contribute to general expenses based on the ownership table, with a financial statement that is traceable and verifiable at any time.
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