Practical guide
How to calculate condominium meeting quorums
Every valid meeting resolution requires two distinct thresholds: the constitutive quorum, meaning how many thousandths of ownership must be present for the meeting to open, and the resolution quorum, meaning how many votes are needed to approve an item. Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code sets different thresholds for first and second call, and some matters (innovations, accessibility works, renewable energy systems) require reinforced majorities compared to ordinary administration. Getting the calculation wrong exposes the resolution to challenge within thirty days. This guide explains how heads and thousandths are counted, which thresholds apply at each call, and how automated calculation reduces human error during minute drafting.
Constitutive quorum: who must be present for the meeting to be valid
The constitutive quorum is measured on two dimensions at once: number of owners present (in person or by proxy) and the value in thousandths they represent. Neither is sufficient alone: both must be met.
At first call, article 1136 requires a majority of attendees representing at least two thirds of the building's value (666.67 thousandths) and in any case a majority of the condominium's participants. At second call, held on a different day from the first, one third of participants representing at least one third of the building's value is sufficient (333.33 thousandths).
The administrator must verify attendance when the session opens and record it in the attendance sheet attached to the minutes: this is the document that proves, in case of a legal challenge, that the constitutive quorum was actually met.
Resolution quorum: majorities for approving ordinary resolutions
Once the meeting has validly opened, approving ordinary administration resolutions (appointing or removing the administrator, approving the financial statement, ordinary maintenance works) requires a majority of attendees representing at least 500 thousandths at second call. At first call the resolution quorum coincides with the two-thirds constitutive quorum.
The calculation must be based on those present at the moment of the vote, not those present when the session opened: if someone leaves during the meeting, thousandths must be recalculated excluding whoever no longer takes part in that specific vote. This is a frequent error in manually compiled minutes.
Qualified majorities: innovations, accessibility works, energy efficiency
Some matters require thresholds above the ordinary majority because they permanently affect common property. Burdensome or non-essential innovations under article 1120 require a majority of attendees with at least two thirds of the building's value.
Article 1120 paragraph two, as amended by law 220/2012, instead requires only a majority of attendees with at least 500 thousandths for innovations related to energy efficiency, renewable energy production, electric vehicle charging, and removal of architectural barriers: the legislator deliberately lowered the threshold to encourage these interventions.
Confusing the two majorities is the most common mistake: before putting an item to a vote, the administrator must correctly classify the agenda item.
Automated calculation reduces error when drafting minutes
Manual counting of heads and thousandths, especially in condominiums with many units or in a supercondominium where building thousandths and general thousandths must be combined, is the most frequent source of challengeable minutes. AmministraPro automatically calculates the constitutive and resolution quorum from the millesimal table and recorded attendance, flagging in real time whether a resolution reaches the threshold required for the specific matter under discussion.
This does not replace the administrator's legal judgment on which majority applies, but it eliminates arithmetic error, which remains the most frequent cause of dispute in legal challenges.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the constitutive quorum is not reached at first call?
The meeting cannot validly open and is postponed to the second call, which must be held on a different day from the first. At second call the thresholds are lower: one third of participants representing at least one third of the building's value is enough to open the session.
Do proxies count toward the constitutive quorum?
Yes, an owner participating through a written proxy given to another owner or a third party (within the limits set by the regulation) is counted as present both for the number of heads and for the thousandths represented. The proxy must be verified by the administrator before the session opens and attached to the minutes.
What is the difference between ordinary majority and qualified majority for innovations?
The ordinary majority (500 thousandths at second call) applies to routine management. Burdensome or non-essential innovations under article 1120 instead require a majority of attendees with at least two thirds of the building's value, a higher threshold because they permanently alter common parts. An exception applies to innovations for energy efficiency and removal of architectural barriers, for which 500 thousandths is sufficient.
Does a quorum calculation error always make the resolution void?
Not always void, but challengeable within thirty days from the resolution date for absent or dissenting owners, and from receipt of the minutes for those absent. The judge assesses whether the defect actually affected the vote's outcome: a calculation error that does not change the result may not lead to annulment, but it remains a concrete risk best avoided upfront.
How are thousandths kept separate in a supercondominium with multiple buildings?
In a supercondominium, general thousandths, which represent each building's share of the whole complex, are distinct from building thousandths, which apply only to parts common to a single building. The quorum calculation must use the table relevant to the matter under discussion: using the wrong table is a frequent defect in supercondominiums with manually managed accounting.
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