Condominium without a manager in Italy: when it is legal

"A building without an administrator is against the law": it is one of the most stubborn beliefs in conversations between Italian neighbours, and one of the most wrong. Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code makes the appointment mandatory only when there are more than eight owners: up to eight, a condominium without an administrator is perfectly legal, and in Italy that covers an enormous share of small buildings and two-family houses. The paradox is that self-management cancels almost no obligation: expenses are still split by millesimi, decisions are still taken by the owners' assembly, and accounts still have to be rendered. What changes is only who does the work.

When is an administrator actually mandatory?

The threshold counts people, not flats: nine units held by five owners make five condòmini, and the appointment remains optional. Above eight, if the assembly fails to appoint one, a court does it instead, on the petition of even a single owner or of the resigning administrator.

There is no fine for staying uncovered: the real sanction is losing control of the choice, because a judge will appoint an outside professional, at that professional's fee, in place of the one the assembly could have picked itself. Below the threshold, nothing prevents a voluntary appointment: it takes a majority of those attending the assembly representing at least 500 millesimi, the same majority required for removal.

Who decides when there is no administrator?

The owners' assembly remains sovereign, with the exact same majorities of article 1136 of the Civil Code. When there is no administrator, article 66 of the implementing provisions allows any single owner to call the meeting: a notice with the agenda, place and date, delivered to everyone entitled at least five days in advance.

In practice a de facto manager (the facente funzioni) almost always emerges: the owner who carries out resolutions, pays suppliers, keeps the paperwork and the accounts. They do not need the training requirements imposed on professional administrators, precisely because they manage the building they live in. A piece of advice from someone who has watched more than one self-managed building fall apart: put the role in writing in a resolution, with tasks and duration, and rotate it. The eternal volunteer first feels indispensable, then feels owed, and that is where disputes are born.

How are expenses split in a two-owner building?

The condominio minimo is a building with just two owners, and Italy's Court of Cassation has clarified that condominium rules apply even to two, assembly included. Expenses are therefore split under article 1123 of the Civil Code, in proportion to the value of each property: not fifty-fifty, unless the shares really are equal or a written agreement says otherwise.

The weak point is decision-making: with two heads and two shares, there is either agreement or no possible majority. In a deadlock, the decision passes to the courts. And an owner who pays a common expense out of pocket without the other's consent is only entitled to reimbursement if the expense was urgent, as article 1134 of the Civil Code requires: the invoice for the leaking roof qualifies, repainting the landing does not.

Do you still need accounts and assemblies?

Yes, and this is the misunderstanding that costs the most. Self-management removes the administrator's fee, not the duties:

• the statement of income and expenses must still be drawn up and approved, because every owner is entitled to know where their money goes
• the split by millesimi remains the rule for every common expense
• the condominium needs its own tax code as soon as it pays companies or professionals, because it acts as a withholding agent; a two-owner building can operate through one owner's tax code, including for building tax deductions
• the data of the condominium registry (owners, titles, safety conditions) is worth keeping up to date even though the formal register is an administrator's duty

Keeping all this in loose spreadsheets and group chats is the fastest way to lose track: condominium management software such as Vecinly lets even a self-managed building keep expense splits, minutes and accounts tidy and visible to everyone, without appointing anyone.

What if nobody wants to do it?

This is the most common scenario and the most underrated.

With no one in charge, nobody calls meetings, maintenance slips until the small job becomes a budget-killer, suppliers do not know whom to invoice, and if a common part injures a third party, all the owners answer for it. The absence of an administrator is not a shield: it spreads the liability across everyone.

Appointing one starts to pay off when there are arrears to recover, when major extraordinary works are on the horizon, when conflict makes every resolution impossible, or, of course, when the building crosses the eight-owner threshold. At that point it is no longer a matter of convenience: any owner tired of waiting can ask a judge for the appointment directly.

A small building that manages itself well spends less and decides faster than a badly administered one. The condition is treating self-management as real management: meetings properly called, accounts in writing, expenses split by millesimi. The day those three things start slipping, an administrator's fee stops being a cost and becomes a saving.

Information current as of July 2026 and specific to Italy under the Italian Civil Code. This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.