Every condominium in Italy — from a two-floor walk-up in a provincial town to a large residential complex in Milan — is governed by a collective body known as the assemblea condominiale. The assembly is not optional. Under Article 1135 of the Italian Civil Code, it holds the power to approve budgets, appoint administrators, authorise renovations, and settle disputes over shared spaces. What it cannot do, under any circumstances, is strip individual owners of rights that derive from their deed of purchase.
Ordinary versus extraordinary assemblies
Italian law distinguishes two types of assembly. The ordinary assembly must be held at least once a year, typically to approve the previous year’s financial statement and the coming year’s budget. The extraordinary assembly is convened whenever a specific issue requires a decision outside the normal annual cycle — an urgent repair, a change to the building regulations, or the removal of the administrator.
The administrator is required to call the ordinary assembly. Any single owner, however, can call an extraordinary assembly by submitting a written request. If the administrator refuses to act within ten days, the requesting owner may apply to a judge, who can authorise the meeting directly.
Apartment buildings in Rome. Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The notice period
Owners must receive written notice of the assembly at least five days before it takes place. The notice must include a full agenda. Any matter not listed on the agenda cannot be voted on during that meeting — a rule that protects owners from being surprised by decisions they had no chance to consider in advance.
Since 2012, assemblies can also be held remotely, with participants connecting via video or telephone. The administrator must record attendance and votes for each participant. Remote meetings follow the same quorum and majority rules as in-person ones.
Quorums: first and second call
Italian condo law operates on a two-call system. The first call requires at least two-thirds of all owners (by number) representing at least two-thirds of the total millesimi value. In practice, this threshold is rarely met in large buildings, so most meetings proceed on second call.
The second call, which can be scheduled for the same day or a different day, requires only one-third of owners representing at least one-third of millesimi. Decisions at second call pass with a majority of those present, provided they represent more than one-third of millesimi. This lower threshold is what makes most assemblies function in practice.
What requires a qualified majority
Some decisions cannot be made by a simple majority. Under Art. 1136, resolutions involving the building’s regulations, significant innovations, or major structural work require the approval of owners representing at least 500 millesimi out of 1,000 — effectively half the building’s total value — plus a majority of those attending.
Certain categories require even higher thresholds. Approving or substantially modifying the building regulations requires two-thirds of millesimi and two-thirds of attending owners. Installing infrastructure that benefits only part of the building — such as an electric car charging point or a lift in a section that previously had none — requires only the consent of the owners who will use it, provided they bear the full cost.
How voting works in practice
Each owner votes in proportion to their millesimi value. An owner with a large ground-floor commercial unit and a smaller upstairs flat participates separately for each unit. Tenants generally do not vote at assembly; that right belongs to the property owner. However, tenants may attend, and if the agenda includes matters directly affecting their use of common areas — internal rules on noise, parking, rubbish collection — they have the right to speak.
Proxy voting is allowed. An owner who cannot attend may delegate another owner or any third party to vote on their behalf. The administrator cannot hold more than one-fifth of all proxies in buildings with more than twenty units.
Challenging a resolution
Any owner who believes a resolution was passed incorrectly — because the notice was defective, the quorum was not reached, or the decision exceeded the assembly’s legal powers — can challenge it before a court. The deadline is thirty days from the date of the resolution for those who were present, and thirty days from the date of notification for those who were absent. After that window closes, the resolution becomes final and binding.
The court does not re-run the assembly; it determines whether the procedural and substantive requirements were met. If a resolution is annulled, the assembly must be reconvened to address the matter again.
Minutes and the register
Every assembly must produce minutes, which the administrator signs together with the meeting’s chair. Minutes are entered into a dedicated register, which all owners have the right to inspect at any time. The minutes record attendance, the agenda items discussed, votes cast for and against, and any dissenting statements owners wish to have noted for the record.
For more on how the financial side of condo life is structured, see the guide on common expenses and millesimi.
