The condominium payment order procedure step by step

The requirements: a certain, liquid and due credit

The payment order is based on a credit that must be certain in its existence, liquid in its amount and due because it has fallen due. In the condominium this credit arises from the cost-sharing statement approved by the owners' meeting, which quantifies for each owner the amount owed according to the thousandths (millesimi) and the sharing criteria resolved.

It is precisely the approval of the cost-sharing statement that makes the fast track possible: the manager does not have to prove the existence of the debt in any other way, because the approved accounting document constitutes the written evidence required by the procedure. For this reason correct bookkeeping and the regularity of the approval resolutions are the indispensable basis of any recovery.

Is a resolution needed to act?

No. Article 63 states that the manager can obtain the payment order without authorisation from the owners' meeting. This is one of the most significant differences compared with other judicial actions, which as a rule require a meeting mandate. Recovering contributions is in fact among the manager's own duties, aimed at protecting the common fund.

Indeed, Article 1129, ninth paragraph, requires the manager to act for the forced collection of sums owed within six months of the closing of the fiscal year in which the credit is included, unless the meeting has expressly exempted them. The payment order is therefore not just an option but, within that term, a genuine duty.

The documents to prepare

The strength of the application depends on the documents attached. With an orderly file the procedure runs smoothly. Generally the following elements are needed, which the manager should already have ready in the condominium's accounts.

• The minutes of the meeting that approved the accounts and the cost-sharing statement showing the amount owed.
• The cost-sharing statement indicating the sum charged to the defaulting owner.
• The documentation of the manager's appointment, which proves standing to act.
• The extract of the defaulter's accounting position with the unpaid instalments and their due dates.
• Copies of the reminders and the formal demand sent, useful to frame the persistence of the arrears.

Provisional enforceability

The most useful feature of the condominium payment order is that the judge grants it provisionally enforceable, that is, immediately actionable, despite any opposition by the owner. This means the manager can proceed with recovery even while an opposition proceeding is pending, without having to wait for the final judgment.

The owner who receives the order still has the right to file opposition within the legal term, opening ordinary proceedings in which to raise objections, for example contesting errors in the sharing or defects in the resolution. Opposition, however, does not automatically suspend the enforceability of the order, which remains the great strength of the procedure.

After the order: from title to actual recovery

Once the enforceable order is obtained, if the owner continues not to pay the manager can move to the enforcement phase proper, with the assistance of a lawyer, serving the formal notice to pay and possibly proceeding to attachment. It is the phase in which the title turns into concrete recovery of the sums.

The whole procedure is easier when the accounts are orderly and the documents are immediately available. In AmministraPro the manager finds the cost-sharing statement, the instalment schedule and the history of reminders linked together, so as to prepare the file for the lawyer without reconstructing the data by hand. The recovery management features and plans are described on the /funzioni and /prezzi pages.

Frequently asked questions