Practical guide
Removing the manager at the meeting: a guide for owners
The owners' meeting can remove the condominium manager at any time and without stating a reason, exactly as it appointed them. This is a power that belongs to the owners, not an extraordinary procedure: all it takes is respecting the quorum of Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code, placing the item correctly on the agenda and recording the resolution cleanly in the minutes. Many removals are challenged not because they were unfounded, but because they were convened or minuted badly. This guide explains how owners can reach a solid removal that holds up even if the outgoing manager decides to contest it before a judge.
Checklist for a solid removal by the meeting
- Check the updated general thousandths table and estimate the thousandths present
- Word a specific agenda item: removal and appointment of the new manager
- Collect the candidates' analytical fee quotes and attach or make them available
- Convene all owners with the terms and forms required by law
- At the sitting verify the quorum and minute the named outcome of the vote with the thousandths
- Vote at the same time the appointment of the replacement and the request to hand over documents
- Notify the outgoing manager of the removal and set times for the handover
Removal is an ordinary power of the meeting
Appointing and removing the manager is a matter for the owners' meeting. Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code states that the meeting which appoints the manager may remove them at any time, and ordinary removal requires no proof of any irregularity: it is a matter of trust. Owners may decide to change manager because they are dissatisfied with the management, because they want a lower fee quote, or simply because they prefer another professional.
This clearly distinguishes removal by the meeting from judicial removal, which instead is requested from the court and presupposes serious irregularities or a failure to render accounts. At the meeting there is no need to build a dossier of accusations: what is needed is a majority. Confusing the two paths is the most common mistake, because it leads owners to think they must prove faults that, for ordinary removal, the law does not require at all.
The correct quorum to vote the removal
Removing the manager follows the same quorum as the appointment. On second call the resolution is valid with the favourable vote of the majority of those present representing at least half the value of the building, that is at least five hundred thousandths (millesimi) of those present. On first call the threshold is higher and rarely met, which is why most removals are voted on second call.
Take care to count the thousandths and not just the heads: a small group of owners with many thousandths can block or approve the removal depending on the weights. Before calling the meeting it is wise to make a realistic calculation, checking the updated general thousandths table and estimating who will attend, so as not to arrive in the room without the numbers needed.
Putting removal on the agenda
Removal must be a specific and clear agenda item, not a topic raised by surprise under any other business. A generic agenda item such as discussion of the manager's conduct does not legitimise a removal resolution: the item must be worded explicitly, for example removal of the current manager and appointment of the new manager.
It is good practice to combine, in the same agenda, the appointment of a replacement and the examination of the related fee quotes, so the condominium is not left uncovered for even a single day. The law in fact requires the manager to state the fee analytically on pain of nullity of the appointment: the candidates' quotes should therefore be attached to the notice of meeting or otherwise made available to owners before the vote.
Minuting the removal against a challenge
The minutes are the main evidence if the removal is contested under Article 1137 of the Italian Civil Code. They must record the verification of the quorum, the text of the resolution, the named outcome of the vote with the thousandths in favour, against and abstaining, and the appointment of the new manager with acceptance of the office. Minutes that merely say approved by majority, without the numbers, are fragile.
It is also advisable to note in the minutes that the outgoing manager is asked to hand over the documentation under Article 1129 and to render the account of the management. Tools such as AmministraPro help owners and the new manager prepare the notice with the correct agenda, calculate the quorum on the updated thousandths table and archive minutes and resolutions in an orderly way; an overview is on /funzioni, with the plans on /prezzi.
Frequently asked questions
Is a reason needed to remove the manager at the meeting?
No. Ordinary removal voted by the meeting requires no reason: it reflects the relationship of trust between owners and manager. A reason is instead necessary when removal is requested from the judge for serious irregularities or failure to render accounts, which is a different and more onerous path, governed by Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code.
What majority removes the manager?
The same quorum as the appointment under Article 1136 of the Italian Civil Code. On second call the favourable vote of the majority of those present representing at least half the value of the building is required, that is at least five hundred thousandths (millesimi) of those present. Both heads and thousandths count, so it is essential to calculate the weights before the meeting.
Must removal be on the agenda?
Yes, and it must be a specific and clear item. A removal resolution adopted under the generic heading any other business or without a dedicated agenda item can be challenged. It is good practice to state expressly removal of the manager and appointment of the new manager, so a replacement can be provided at once.
What if the removed manager does not hand over the documents?
On termination of the office the manager is required by law to hand over all documentation of the condominium and of the individual owners. If they do not, the new manager or the meeting can take legal action, including on an urgent basis, to obtain delivery. It is useful to record the formal request for delivery in the minutes of the same removal sitting.
Is the removed manager entitled to compensation?
Ordinary removal without good cause may entail, under the principles of mandate, the manager's right to the fee for the work performed up to the removal and, in some cases, to damages if removal occurred without good cause before the term. Where good cause exists, this right does not arise. It is worth assessing the specific situation carefully.
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