---
title: "Condominium administrator: when the appointment is mandatory"
description: News, updates and guides on the real estate market, sales, rentals, housing regulations and tax breaks by Grimaldi Casa.
url: https://www.grimaldi.casa/en/news/condominium-administrator-when-the-appointment-is-mandatory
---

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# Condominium administrator: when the appointment is mandatory

04 September 2020

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The condominium reform has elevated **from five to nine is the number of condominiums that require the mandatory appointment of an administrator**. However, the provision which provides for judicial appointment in the event of inertia on the part of the assembly has remained unchanged, which has raised doubts about the quality of the director. Uncertainty resolved by the Supreme Court with a 2017 ruling.

However, one question still remains open regarding the mandatory appointment of the condominium administrator: how are condominiums counted in the event that a condominium owner owns multiple units or, on the contrary, a single unit is co-owned by multiple individuals?

{gallery}administrator{/gallery}

 **Mandatory pre-reform condominium administrator**

There **previous formulation** of art. 1229 of the Civil Code, modified in 2012 by the law on the reform of condominiums required **the mandatory appointment of the administrator** condominium **if there were more than four condominiums**. Compliance which, if the assembly did not provide, was up to the judge upon appeal by one or more condominium owners. 

## **Mandatory post-reform condominium administrator**

With the condominium reform carried out by law n. 220 of 11 December 2012, the numerical requirement for condominiums has changed which requires the mandatory appointment of the condominium administrator.

The 2012 law has indeed changed**art 1129** civil code, dedicated to the appointment, revocation and obligations which in paragraph 1 provides: "**When there are more than eight condominiums, **if the assembly does not do so, the appointment of an administrator is made by the judicial authority upon appeal from one or more condominium owners or the resigning administrator."

From reading the provision, the difference compared to the previous formulation is immediately apparent. First of all, the number of condominiums that require the appointment of an administrator has gone from more than 4 to more than eight, or rather to nine. Secondly, the fact that, if the assembly does not make the appointment, the judge will take care of it at the request of one or more condominium owners, or the outgoing administrator.

## **The Supreme Court on the nature of judicial appointment**

The mandatory appointment of the administrator in the event that there are more than eight condominium owners is so important that if they do not do so with a meeting resolution, the law requires the judge to take care of this task.

More than legitimate doubts have been raised regarding the judicial appointment and the nature of the compensation, given the wording of art. 1229 of the Civil Code. the Supreme Court with sentence no. 21966/2017 had the opportunity to clarify that: "in terms of condominiums in buildings, **the decree **issued pursuant to**art. 1129, first paragraph, cod. civil its object is exclusively the appointment of the administrator by the court**, replacing the assembly that fails to do so, **without however changing the position of this subject,** who, although designated by the judicial authority, establishes **he has a mandate relationship with the condominiums and does not have the role of auxiliary of the judge**. It follows that the administrator appointed by the court must account for his work only to the assembly, e **the determination of his compensation remains regulated by the art. 1709 cod. civil**.”

## **The counting of condominiums**

Once the issue of judicial appointment has been clarified, there is another aspect that raises doubts and questions, namely the**counting of condominiums. **In the event that a person owns multiple real estate units within the condominium, how must he be counted pursuant to art. 1229 of the Civil Code to calculate the number of condominiums that make the appointment of the administrator mandatory?

Unfortunately, the law does not provide a definition of the individual condominium owner, just as there is no legal definition of the condominium. It must therefore be concluded that if **a building is made up of 9 real estate units but there are only three owners**, each of whom owns three apartments, in that property no**It is not mandatory to appoint an administrator **because the condominiums do not reach the numerical requirement required by the art. 1229 c.c. which requires the appointment of a person to manage it. Vice versa, **if a real estate unit is in the common ownership of 9 subjects**, what happens? In this case**the condominium owner is unique** and therefore, also in this case, **the appointment of the administrator is not** absolutely or**mandatory.**