Practical guide
How to manage a residence or residential village
A residence or residential village is not an ordinary condominium: it often gathers dozens or hundreds of units, with pools, green areas, concierge services, sports facilities and internal roads that a traditional condominium does not have. When there is more than one building sharing services and spaces, Italian law treats it as a super condominium under article 1117 bis of the Civil Code, with its own rules on allocating costs between assets shared by everyone and assets shared only by some buildings, per article 1123. On top of this there is often marked seasonality, with occupancy varying widely between summer and winter. Managing this complexity well requires clarity on legal structure, cost allocation and software able to track multiple buildings and multiple cost tables together, such as AmministraPro.
Recognizing the legal structure: condominium, super condominium or shared ownership
The first step is understanding what is actually being managed. If the residence consists of a single building with multiple units, ordinary condominium rules apply under articles 1117 and following of the Civil Code. If instead the complex includes several distinct buildings, each with its own internal management but sharing areas, systems or services such as driveways, pools, concierge, or green areas, it constitutes a super condominium governed by article 1117 bis, introduced by the 2012 reform.
This distinction is not merely formal: a super condominium has at least two cost tables, one for each building covering its own expenses, and one at super condominium level for assets and services shared by all buildings. Confusing the two levels is one of the most frequent causes of disputes at meetings and of incorrect cost allocation, because an expense relating to only one building, such as maintaining its stairwell, cannot be charged to residents of another building in the village.
Broad shared services: pools, green areas, concierge and internal roads
In residences and villages, shared services go well beyond those of an ordinary condominium. Pools and sports facilities require technical maintenance, safety management under standards such as UNI 10801 for collective swimming facilities, and often a separate usage regulation that the assembly must approve by majority vote. Concierge and security services, when common to all buildings, fall under super condominium expenses and are allocated according to the general cost table, unless otherwise agreed. Green areas and internal roads require specific contracts and often agreements with the municipality for access management.
For each of these services it helps to keep a separate expense line in the budget, so every owner can clearly see what they pay and why, especially when owners belong to households who use the property only during certain periods of the year.
Seasonality and many units: managing variable occupancy and effective communication
A tourist residence or a second-home village experiences seasonal occupancy peaks: many units stay closed for months, and owners, often non-resident, follow management remotely. This creates two practical needs: timely, traceable communication, such as meeting notices, work announcements and financial statements, that reaches everyone even when they are not physically present, and maintenance scheduling that accounts for periods of lower or higher use of shared facilities.
With many units, even small variations in ownership shares or ancillary charges, for example heating cost allocation with metering devices where installed, generate a large volume of individual calculations: a single calculation error multiplies across dozens of owners and becomes a source of disputes. Automating cost allocation, including across super condominium buildings with different cost tables, significantly reduces the risk of error compared to a manually managed spreadsheet.
Choosing software suited to residences and villages with multiple buildings
Generic condominium management software, designed for a single building, is often not enough for a residential village with several buildings and distinct cost tables. Useful features to check for include native super condominium management, with separate cost tables per building and for assets shared by all, and automatic allocation consistent with article 1123 of the Civil Code, a registry capable of handling hundreds of units and multiple buildings without slowdown, with building and stairwell identification when the complex is organized into several blocks, and digital communication tools, such as meeting notices, announcements and a notice board, to reach non-resident owners and manage seasonality without relying only on paper mail.
AmministraPro is built to follow exactly this kind of complexity: it lets you create a super condominium and link the individual condominiums that make it up, applies automatic allocation based on the correct super condominium shares, and manages a large registry, communications and accounting in a single view, with features and plans described on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a residence with multiple buildings always a super condominium under Italian law?
Not automatically: it becomes one when the buildings, while having their own internal management, share common assets or services such as driveways, green areas, systems or concierge. In that case article 1117 bis of the Civil Code, introduced by the 2012 reform, applies, extending condominium rules to the super condominium where compatible. If the buildings share nothing, they remain separate, independent condominiums with no legal link between them.
How are expenses allocated among the different buildings of a residential village?
Expenses relating to assets or services used by all buildings, such as a shared pool, driveways or concierge, are allocated according to the super condominium cost table calculated on the whole complex. Expenses relating to only one building remain exclusively on that building's owners, according to its specific cost table, consistent with article 1123 of the Civil Code, which ties contribution to actual use and ownership of the asset.
Does the shared pool or sports facilities need a separate regulation?
It is good practice to adopt one, approved by the assembly, covering hours, access, liability and maintenance of the facility, in addition to the general condominium regulation. For pools used collectively, the relevant technical standard, such as UNI 10801 covering requirements for swimming facilities, should also be considered, an aspect the administrator should monitor together with the maintenance technicians.
How should communication be handled with owners who are not resident year round?
It helps to pair traditional notice methods, such as registered mail or certified email that provide proof of receipt under article 66 of the implementing provisions of the Civil Code, with complementary digital channels such as an online notice board, notifications and traceable written communication, so that owners present only a few weeks a year still receive timely notice of meetings, extraordinary works and financial statements.
Can software like AmministraPro handle a super condominium with different buildings and cost tables?
Yes: AmministraPro lets you create the super condominium structure, link the individual condominiums that make it up, each with its own cost table, and automatically applies allocation of shared expenses based on the correct super condominium shares, avoiding manual calculations on separate spreadsheets. Details on features and plans are described on the features page and the pricing page.
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Accounting, thousandths-based cost splitting, meetings, communications and artificial intelligence in a single Italian software, compliant with UNI 10801 and GDPR.