Practical guide
Condominium meeting majorities: a practical guide
Every resolution passed by a condominium meeting requires a specific majority that varies depending on the subject at hand. Italian law distinguishes between the constitutive quorum, meaning how many owners must be present for the meeting to validly open, and the resolution quorum, meaning how many votes are needed to approve a specific item. Majorities are always expressed through a double criterion: number of owners present, counted by head, and the value they represent in thousandths of ownership share. Getting this calculation wrong is one of the most frequent reasons resolutions end up challenged in court. This guide walks through the thresholds for each type of decision, special cases such as innovations and accessibility works, and how a tool like AmministraPro can simplify real time counting during the meeting.
The double criterion: heads and ownership shares
No majority in a condominium is measured with a single parameter. Every quorum combines two figures: the number of owners attending or voting in favor, and the value in thousandths they represent out of the building's total of 1000 shares. An owner might hold one small unit and represent very few thousandths, or own several units and carry a substantial share, so the ownership share table attached to the building regulation is the constant reference point for every quorum check.
This double calculation makes an up to date attendance sheet and the ownership share table essential during every meeting. A common mistake is counting only the heads present and forgetting to add the corresponding shares, or the reverse. A resolution approved on an incorrect count can be challenged within thirty days by an owner who did not receive notice or did not attend, and within thirty days of receiving the minutes for an owner who was absent but later learned of the outcome.
The constitutive quorum: when the meeting can open
On first call, the meeting is validly constituted when attendees represent at least two thirds of the value of the whole building and a majority of the owners taking part in the condominium. This is a high threshold, and in practice first calls frequently fail to reach it, especially in buildings with many units and owners who are only loosely engaged.
On second call, which must be held on a different day than the first, one third of the building's value and one third of the owners are enough. This lower threshold exists precisely to make sure the meeting can still resolve when the first call did not reach the legal number, which is why the notice of the meeting always states both the first and second call dates together.
The resolution quorum by type of decision
Once the constitutive quorum is met, the majority needed to approve varies according to the subject of the resolution:
Ordinary administration items, such as approving the financial statement or appointing the property manager, require on second call a majority of those present representing at least one third of the building's value. Innovations, meaning works that alter a common part to improve it or make it more functional, require a qualified majority: a majority of those present representing at least half of the building's value. Some costly or purely ornamental innovations, unless approved unanimously, can exempt dissenting owners from the related expense if they show they cannot benefit from the work.
Cases with reduced thresholds: works to remove architectural barriers and for energy efficiency benefit from lower quorums precisely to encourage their adoption, while more invasive changes, such as those affecting the architectural character of the building or the intended use of common parts, require higher majorities, up to unanimity for changes to each owner's real rights over common parts.
Common mistakes and their consequences
The most frequent mistakes involve confusing first and second call thresholds, applying the wrong quorum for the type of resolution, and failing to update the ownership shares when the group of owners changes during the year due to sales not yet reported to the property manager. Another common mistake is treating a resolution as valid simply because the people present in the room agreed, without verifying that the required share of thousandths was actually reached, especially when some owners abstain: an abstention is not the same as a favorable vote and must be counted separately.
A resolution flawed by an incorrect quorum can generally be annulled at the request of a dissenting or absent owner within the statutory deadline. If instead the resolution is void, for example because it infringes an owner's non waivable individual rights, the challenge has no time limit. For this reason the minutes must always clearly record the count of those present, those in favor, those against, and those who abstained, both by head and by ownership share.
The role of management software in calculating majorities
Software like AmministraPro keeps the ownership share table up to date and automatically calculates the heads and shares present as owners sign the attendance sheet, avoiding manual recalculation during the meeting. The system can generate the minutes with the exact percentage reached for each resolution, reducing the risk of errors that expose the meeting to challenges. Property managers handling several buildings with different ownership share tables find this automation a concrete time saver and a stronger paper trail.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the constitutive quorum and the resolution quorum?
The constitutive quorum indicates how many owners, counted both by head and by ownership share, must be present for the meeting to be validly convened and able to discuss items. The resolution quorum indicates how many favorable votes are needed to approve a specific item once the meeting has already been validly constituted. Both quorums are calculated with the same double criterion of heads plus shares, but they apply at different moments of the meeting: the first at opening, the second at voting.
What happens if the legal number is not reached on first call?
If on first call not enough owners attend to represent two thirds of the building's value and a majority of the owners, the meeting cannot validly resolve and is postponed to the second call, which is stated in the same notice on a different day than the first. On second call one third of the building's value and one third of the owners are enough, a threshold designed to prevent the condominium from being blocked by low attendance.
Do innovations always require a higher majority?
Yes, innovations, meaning works that alter a common part to improve it or make it more functional, require a majority of those present representing at least half of the whole building's value, a higher threshold than ordinary decisions. Exceptions exist for certain favored categories, such as works to remove architectural barriers and improve energy efficiency, which benefit from reduced quorums precisely to encourage owners to adopt them.
How are ownership shares counted when some owners abstain from voting?
An abstention is always counted separately from both a favorable and an unfavorable vote: an abstaining owner contributes to the constitutive quorum if present in the room, but does not count toward the majority required to approve the resolution. For this reason the minutes must record separately the shares of those in favor, those against, and those who abstained, so the threshold actually reached for each decision can be checked precisely.
Does a mistake in calculating majorities always make a resolution void?
Not always. A resolution approved with an insufficient quorum is generally annullable, and must be challenged within thirty days by a dissenting or absent owner, otherwise it becomes final. It is instead void, with no time limit for the challenge, when it infringes owners' non waivable individual rights over common parts or exclusive property. Keeping precise minutes with the head and share detail for each resolution, as AmministraPro allows, reduces the risk of disputes on both fronts.
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