Comparisons
Ordinary or extraordinary condominium expenses
In an Italian condominium, not every expense is approved the same way, and confusing the two categories is one of the most common causes of a challengeable resolution. Ordinary expenses cover the day to day, recurring running of the building. Extraordinary expenses cover unusual interventions, often significant in amount, that change or substantially preserve the common parts. The distinction is not academic: it changes the majorities required under articles 1135 and 1136 of the Italian Civil Code, in certain cases obliges the assembly to set up a special fund before works can even begin, and produces a different impact on the annual budget and financial statement. A property manager who does not apply this distinction risks having resolutions challenged, while software such as AmministraPro helps keep the two categories separate from the moment the budget is drafted.
Compared
| Criterion | Ordinary | Extraordinary |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the work | Preserves the current state of the common parts | Significantly repairs, changes or introduces something new in the common parts |
| Who decides | Property manager, within the mandate and approved budget | Assembly, with a specific resolution |
| Majority required | Simple majority of those present (art. 1136) | Often a qualified majority, higher thresholds for innovations |
| Dedicated fund | Not required, covered by ordinary management | Special fund mandatory under art. 1135 par. 1 no. 4 |
| Budget line | Periodic installment in the annual budget | Separate line with its own installment plan |
| Examples | Cleaning, entrance hall electricity, manager's fee | Facade renovation, heating system replacement, roof rebuilding |
What separates an ordinary expense from an extraordinary one
Ordinary expenses keep the common parts running as they are: stairwell cleaning, electricity for the entrance hall, routine elevator maintenance, the property manager's fee, building insurance. They are recurring, predictable, and get allocated according to the annual budget approved by the assembly.
Extraordinary expenses cover unusual interventions on the common parts: redoing the facade, replacing the centralized heating system, rebuilding the roof, bringing the building up to safety standards. They have no fixed schedule and significantly affect the building's assets, so they require a specific resolution and often dedicated funding.
A practical test when in doubt is to ask whether the expense preserves the existing state of things (ordinary) or substantially changes and improves it (extraordinary): Italian case law has repeatedly used this line to resolve borderline cases, such as a modest extraordinary maintenance job that remains extraordinary because of the nature of the work, not just its cost.
Who approves it and with what majority
Article 1135 of the Civil Code assigns decisions on extraordinary maintenance works and innovations to the assembly, while ordinary management expenses fall within the property manager's day to day activity, carried out within the mandate and the already approved budget, without needing a fresh resolution for every single invoice.
Article 1136 sets the required majorities: significant extraordinary maintenance works or innovations often require a qualified majority (a majority of those present representing at least half the value of the building, or higher thresholds for costly innovations), while ordinary management resolutions pass with simpler majorities. Getting the majority wrong is one of the most common grounds for challenging a resolution within the 30 day window.
- Ordinary expenses: within the manager's mandate, already covered by the annual budget
- Extraordinary expenses: require a dedicated assembly resolution, often a qualified majority
- Innovations (art. 1120): a separate category with specific majorities and legal limits
- Wrong majority: a frequent ground for challenging the resolution
The special fund under article 1135
Article 1135, first paragraph, number 4, of the Civil Code requires that, when the assembly approves extraordinary maintenance works, it simultaneously sets up a special fund equal to the amount of the works. The rule exists to prevent the condominium from starting works without actually having collected the necessary sums, exposing the manager and the owners to cash flow problems once the works have already begun.
In practice, the fund is fed by owner contributions according to their ownership shares, before or during the execution of the works, and is kept separate from the ordinary cash flow precisely because it has a restricted purpose. If the fund is not enough or the works run beyond budget, a new supplementary resolution is needed: the ordinary expense account cannot be tapped to cover a shortfall on extraordinary works.
Impact on the budget and the financial statement
In the annual budget, ordinary expenses make up the recurring line that determines owners' periodic installments, while approved extraordinary expenses appear as separate items, often with their own installment plan tied to the special fund set up for that specific intervention.
In the final financial statement, the separation must remain visible: mixing the two categories makes the statement hard to read and complicates owners' oversight of how the extraordinary fund was used. Management software that keeps records separated by expense type, as AmministraPro does in its accounting section and automatic financial statement generation, reduces the risk of errors and makes it easier to show the assembly that the fund was spent consistently with the resolution that created it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a low cost extraordinary maintenance job stay extraordinary?
Yes. The decisive test is the nature of the intervention, not just the amount: if the work significantly changes or restores a common part, such as redoing a section of piping or part of the roof, it remains extraordinary even when the cost is modest, and must be approved under the article 1136 rules rather than managed by the property manager as a recurring expense.
Can the property manager start extraordinary works without an assembly resolution?
No, except in the urgent cases provided by law, where the manager can act to prevent immediate danger to people or property and must then report to the assembly at the first available opportunity. Outside these exceptional cases, extraordinary maintenance works always require an assembly resolution authorizing both the execution and the expenditure.
What happens if the special fund is not enough to cover the works?
The assembly must approve a top up of the fund, with a new allocation among owners according to their ownership shares. It is not correct to draw on the ordinary expense account to cover an extra cost on extraordinary works, because that would mix two accounting flows that the law intends to keep separate.
How are ordinary and extraordinary expenses kept separate in the financial statement?
Through distinct accounting records by expense type, each referencing the resolution that authorized the extraordinary item. Software such as AmministraPro lets you tag every transaction as ordinary or extraordinary and link it to the relevant fund or budget, so the final statement clearly shows where the special fund's money went.
Are innovations extraordinary expenses or a separate category?
Innovations, governed by article 1120 of the Civil Code, are a distinct subset: they introduce something new compared to what existed before, such as installing a shared photovoltaic system or an electric vehicle charging point, and have their own majority rules, often higher than ordinary extraordinary maintenance, plus legal limits on architectural appearance and use of the common parts.
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