Italian courts clarify condominium property and expense rules

Recent rulings from the Italian Court of Cassation and the Court of Appeal of Florence have clarified the legal boundaries regarding condominium management and property rights.

Regarding shared infrastructure, the Court of Cassation (Ordinance n. 27998) ruled that a ‘supercondominio’ is only established through the existence of common property across multiple buildings. The mere shared use of a road, gate, or service located on private property does not automatically create a supercondominium status based on custom alone.

In terms of maintenance costs, jurisprudence confirms that repairs to vertical columns serving only a specific subset of apartments must be paid exclusively by the owners who benefit from them, rather than the entire condominium. This is based on the practical utility of the system rather than its formal designation.

Furthermore, the Court of Appeal of Florence (Sentence n. 2028) emphasized that condominium assemblies lack the authority to decide on private property. Any assembly resolution attempting to impose works or changes on exclusive assets without the unanimous consent of the owners is considered absolutely null.