When renting an apartment located within a condominium, one of the questions that may arise concerns who should pay the condominium administrator's fee: the tenant or the owner of the property?
This topic, often a source of debates and misunderstandings, is regulated by the civil code and various rulings of the Supreme Court.
In this article we will explore who is responsible for paying the building manager, while also examining possible exceptions and agreements that can be made between the owner and tenant to clarify their respective responsibilities.
The appointment and role of the administrator
Before delving into the topic of payment, it is important to understand the role and appointment of the condominium administrator. The nomination is mandatory when there are more than eight condominium owners, and in the absence of an assembly to do so, the judicial authority can intervene at the request of one or more condominium owners.
The administrator remains in office for one year and can be re-elected. He has the task of administering and managing the building, carrying out the resolutions of the assembly, ensuring compliance with the regulations, regulating the use of the common areas and representing the condominium in court.
Who pays the administrator's fee?
In general, the director's compensation is the responsibility of the owners of the individual real estate units. This also applies in the case of rental, unless the owner and the tenant have agreed otherwise.
The law establishes that condominium expenses must be borne by the owners in proportion to the value of their property, measured in thousandths, unless otherwise agreed.
This means that each owner pays a share of the administrator's expenses based on the size of their real estate unit compared to the total condominium. However, it is possible that the condominium owners decide unanimously to derogate from this criterion and establish a different distribution of expenses, for example by dividing them into equal parts.
Distribution of condominium expenses
The legal criterion for sharing condominium charges, based on thousandths of ownership, also applies to expenses relating to the administrator's compensation. Each condominium owner is therefore required to pay a fee determined based on the number of thousandths assigned to their real estate unit.
Art. 1123 of the Civil Code
Allocation of expensesThe expenses necessary for the conservation and enjoyment of common parts of the building, for the provision of services in the common interest and for the innovations resolved by
majority are supported by the condominiums in proportion to the value of each person's property, unless otherwise agreed.
If these are things intended to serve condominiums to an extent different, the expenses are shared in proportion to the use that each can do it.
If a building has multiple stairs, courtyards, flat roofs, works or systems intended to serve a part of the whole building, the costs relating to their maintenance are borne of the group of condominiums that benefits from it.
However, the condominium owners can agree among themselves and establish unanimously, through the approval of an agreement in derogation, that the expenses relating to the administrator's compensation are divided equally between the owners of the different real estate unitsregardless of the thousandths owned by each.
Subsequently, the condominium owners can modify this agreement and return to the legal criterion, provided that there is unanimity of consensus. In the event of the sale of a property forming part of the condominium, the derogating agreement, if not registered, has no value.
Therefore, new buyers have the right to have the legal criterion for sharing condominium expenses applied to them, unless they express a willingness to accept the exemption, expressly or for conclusive facts.
The tenant and the administrator's payment
When it comes to rental, the payment of the condominium administrator's fee is theoretically up to the owner of the property.
The rental regulations do not include the administrator's compensation among the additional charges borne by the tenant, which are instead the costs relating to the cleaning service, the operation and ordinary maintenance of the lift, the supply of water, electricity and heating. and air conditioning, the purging of cesspools and latrines, and the provision of other common services.
Furthermore, the tenant must bear 90% of the costs for the concierge service, if any, unless the parties have agreed on a lower amount.
The Court of Cassation considered the list of additional charges to be mandatory, excluding the administrator's compensation from the expenses that can be charged to the tenant without an explicit agreement between the parties. However, the landlord and tenant may decide to include a clause in the rental agreement requiring the tenant to pay the manager's fee in whole or in part. This agreement must be clearly stated in the contract to avoid future disputes and guarantee transparent management of condominium expenses.
Notwithstanding the law, the landlord and the tenant may include a clause in the rental agreement requiring the tenant to pay the manager's fee in whole or in part.
This agreement must be clearly stated in the contract to avoid future disputes. For example, the parties may agree that the tenant pays 50% of the manager's fee or the full amount. These agreements, if well defined in the contract, can prevent misunderstandings and guarantee transparent management of condominium expenses.
Conclusion
In summary, the payment of the condominium administrator is the responsibility of the owners of the real estate units, unless otherwise agreed between the owner and the tenant. Current legislation and Supreme Court rulings provide clear guidance, but it is always advisable to formalize any specific agreements in the rental contract.
This ensures that both parties are aware of their responsibilities and can avoid future disputes.
