Practical guide
Managing a condominium with many common parts
A condominium with many common parts, such as buildings with multiple staircases, garages, green areas, centralized heating and multiple elevators, cannot be managed like a simple condominium. Each common part may have its own value table under article 1123 of the Italian civil code, a differentiated use among unit owners, and distinct maintenance rules. The administrator must keep accounting that clearly separates general expenses from those referring to assets or services enjoyed only by some owners, avoiding undifferentiated charges that generate disputes at the assembly. This guide explains how to organize tables, accounting and maintenance when common parts multiply, and what role management software can play in keeping everything under control.
Multiple value tables and when they are needed
Article 1123 of the Italian civil code establishes the general principle: expenses for the preservation and enjoyment of common parts are allocated in proportion to the value of each owner's property, unless otherwise agreed. However, the following paragraphs provide that when assets are meant to serve owners to a different extent, allocation must follow the actual use each owner can make of them, and that for things serving only part of the building, such as a staircase, an elevator or an inner courtyard, expenses fall on the group of owners who benefit from them.
In practice, a condominium with several staircases typically has a general table based on property value and one or more staircase tables for the maintenance costs of parts serving only that building section. If elevators are installed only in some blocks, a dedicated elevator table is needed for those who benefit from it. Garages, driveways and green areas may require yet another table if not all owners use them the same way. Keeping separate tables is not a bureaucratic quirk: it is what makes the allocation legitimate and defensible at the assembly or in any dispute.
- General table: costs for preserving the building as a whole
- Staircase or building tables: maintenance of parts serving only that section
- Elevator table: when the system does not serve all owners
- Garage or courtyard table: when use is reserved to one group
Separate accounting for systems and services
A condominium with many common parts almost always has several systems that need to be accounted for separately: centralized heating, air conditioning, water systems, elevators, automated gates, video surveillance of common areas. Each system generates maintenance contracts, extraordinary interventions, consumption to allocate, and often its own regulatory obligations, such as the periodic checks required by the UNI 10801 standard for lifting equipment or statutory inspections of heating systems. Mixing these items into a single accounting flow makes it impossible to understand what each service actually costs and who should be charged.
The solution is to organize accounting by cost center: each system or area has its own chart of accounts, its own reserve fund where applicable, and its own reporting in the annual statement. This also allows better planning of preventive maintenance, because historical spending for each system is visible at a glance and cost drifts can be spotted before they become a problem.
Preventive maintenance and deadline management
More common parts mean more deadlines to respect: periodic elevator inspections, boiler maintenance, fire safety checks in garages, water tank cleaning, green area pruning. A single calendar for the whole condominium quickly becomes unmanageable by hand, with the real risk of missing a mandatory inspection or letting a contract expire without renewing it in time.
Management software that links each system to its own technical record, maintenance contracts and regulatory deadlines lets the administrator receive automatic reminders and always have the intervention history available for each asset, which is also useful in case of an inspection or a dispute with a unit owner.
The role of software in managing complex common parts
When a condominium has multiple value tables, multiple systems and multiple cost centers, managing everything with separate spreadsheets becomes fragile: a single reference error between tables can generate an incorrect allocation that then has to be corrected at the assembly, with all the friction that entails. Software such as AmministraPro lets you associate each expense with the correct value table, keep accounting by distinct cost center for each system, and generate statements with allocation already calculated according to the right criterion for each item.
For a condominium with many common parts, this means less time spent manually checking cross references between tables and more time for following up on maintenance and relations with owners. Anyone evaluating software for their own management can check the features dedicated to multi table management and the plans available on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How many value tables can a condominium with complex common parts have?
There is no fixed number set by law: it depends on how many categories of assets and services are enjoyed to a different extent by owners. A building with several staircases, elevators installed only in some blocks, garages and courtyards can have one general table plus several specific tables, each approved at the assembly with the majorities required for its nature. What matters is that each table reflects the actual criterion of use or ownership, as required by article 1123 of the civil code.
Who pays for maintenance of an elevator that serves only some unit owners?
Under the third paragraph of article 1123 of the civil code, expenses relating to parts of the building meant to serve owners to a different extent are allocated in proportion to the use each owner can make of them. If the elevator serves only some staircases or floors, the expense must be charged exclusively to those owners according to the value table dedicated to that system, not according to the general property table.
What happens if value tables are not updated to reflect actual use of common parts?
A table that no longer reflects the actual use of common parts can be challenged by the owners it penalizes and, in case of a significant error or changed building conditions, can be revised according to the rules set out in the civil code. It is advisable to periodically check, especially after works that change the purpose of a common part, whether the tables in use still correspond to the real situation.
Can management software automatically calculate allocation across several different tables?
Yes, software designed for condominium management such as AmministraPro lets you associate each expense item with the correct value table and generate the statement with allocation already calculated according to the right criterion for each item, reducing the manual error risk typical of spreadsheets when tables are numerous.
Is separate accounting needed for each system in the condominium?
It is strongly advisable to organize accounting by distinct cost centers when a condominium has several systems, such as centralized heating, elevators and automated gates, because it allows you to know the real cost of each service, meet the specific regulatory deadlines of each system, and present a clear, item by item verifiable statement at the assembly.
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