Quiet Hours in an Italian Condominium: Who Sets Them
Two questions, in this order: at what hour you have to stop making noise, and who decided it. In fact the second comes before the first, because it changes where to look. Here you find where quiet hours come from, how they are written into the regulation, how they are announced and two notices ready to adapt. The notices are in Italian because they are meant to be posted in Italian buildings.
The Civil Code does not set the hours
We searched the condominium provisions of the Civil Code (arts. 1117-1139) and the implementing provisions (arts. 61-72). The words for silence, quiet, rest, hours, noise and decibels do not appear in any of those articles. The Civil Code does not say at what hour a condominium has to be quiet.
The "standard" hours quoted on websites and forums do not come from there. They may be the hours of a single regulation, or of a municipal regulation, or a custom: they are not a rule of the Civil Code on condominiums.
The only provision of the Civil Code that mentions noise is art. 844, on immissioni, and it says something else. The owner of a plot may not prevent immissions, among them noise, coming from the neighbour's plot "if they do not exceed normal tolerability, having regard also to the condition of the places". It is a tolerability test, with no time bands and no decibel thresholds. We cover it in the article on noise and works in a condominium.
Where they are, then: the regulation and the municipality
The condominium regulation. Art. 1138 of the Civil Code says that where the co-owners number more than ten, a regulation must be drawn up containing "the rules on the use of common things and the sharing of expenses", plus rules on the building's decorum and on administration. The article does not name quiet hours. If your building's regulation has them, they are there, and the administrator must see to their observance (art. 1130, no. 1). The regulation, where there is one, is attached to the register of the assembly minutes (art. 1130, no. 7). What it contains and who approves it is in the guide to the condominium regulation.
The municipality. The framework law on noise pollution (Law 26 October 1995, no. 447, art. 6) lists among the competences of municipalities "the adoption of regulations implementing the state and regional rules on protection from noise pollution". It also speaks of local hygiene and health or municipal police regulations. Whether and how a municipality sets time bands depends on the municipality: its regulation has to be read. We do not publish tables of hours by city, because we have not checked them one by one against the municipal sources.
A neighbour is making noise: what to do
The law does not say at what hour a disturbance begins, so the answer depends on where the hours are written in your case. In practice:
- Check what the regulation and the municipality say. If the regulation has a clause on quiet, it is the first reference; for the municipality, see above. In practice many regulations provide a band in the early afternoon and one at night; the exact hours are those of your regulation.
- Write to the administrator. The Civil Code entrusts them with seeing "to the observance of the condominium regulation" (art. 1130, no. 1): a written report, with dates and a description of what happens, is the natural step.
- Keep the penalty in mind. If the regulation provides one, art. 70 of the implementing provisions sets the ceiling (up to 200 euros, up to 800 for repeat offences) and says that imposing it is decided by the assembly, not by the administrator alone.
- If the noise is serious or continuous. The civil test is the "normal tolerability" of art. 844, and for serious cases there is art. 659 of the Criminal Code: we explain both in noise and works in a condominium. For a concrete case, speak to a lawyer.
How to add or change the hours in the regulation
If the regulation does not have them, or has them in an old or vague form, the route is that of art. 1138:
- The initiative. Any co-owner may take the initiative to form the regulation or revise the existing one (second paragraph).
- The notice of convocation. The proposal must be stated specifically on the agenda, not hidden under "any other business". Periods and channels are those of art. 66 of the implementing provisions: we explained them in convocation of the assembly: notice and deadlines, and the document is in the notice template.
- The approval. The regulation "must be approved by the assembly with the majority set by the second paragraph of art. 1136" and attached to the register of minutes (third paragraph). The second paragraph of art. 1136 requires "a majority of those present" and "at least half of the building's value". The quorums for constituting the assembly are in second convocation and quorum.
An agenda item can be written like this:
Proposta di inserimento nel regolamento di condominio della clausola
sugli orari di quiete (testo allegato alla presente convocazione) e
relativa delibera.
How to write the clause
The time bands are a decision for the assembly: in the model below they are placeholders, to be replaced with whatever the condominium decides. The text is a draft to adapt to the regulation, not a ready-made text.
In practice: if a clause comes from the deeds of purchase or from an agreement among all the co-owners (the regulation usually called "contractual"), it is not changed by the art. 1136 majority, and a new clause approved by majority cannot take those rights away. For a concrete case, legal advice is advisable.
Art. [__] - Quiete
1. Nelle fasce orarie [dalle __ alle __] e [dalle __ alle __] nei giorni
[feriali], e [dalle __ alle __] nei giorni [sabato, domenica e festivi],
i condòmini e gli occupanti delle unità evitano attività e rumori che
possano disturbare il riposo degli altri.
2. I lavori nelle unità sono comunicati all'amministratore prima
dell'inizio e annunciati ai condòmini con avviso affisso o inviato.
Per i lavori sono ammesse le fasce orarie [dalle __ alle __].
3. Per le infrazioni al presente articolo [è/non è] prevista la sanzione
di cui all'art. 70 disp. att. c.c. [importo, entro i limiti di legge].
If the regulation provides penalties, the ceiling is set by art. 70 of the implementing provisions: "a sum of up to 200 euros" and, "in case of repeat offence", up to 800 euros. The sum goes to the fund the administrator holds for ordinary expenses, and imposing it is decided by the assembly with the majorities of art. 1136, second paragraph. Art. 70 ties the penalty to "breaches of the condominium regulation": a notice on the board is not a resolution of the assembly.
The notice for residents: two versions
Once the hours are in the regulation, they are recalled to everyone with a notice. Choose the right version: if the regulation does not provide for them, the notice cannot say "under the regulation".
Version A: the regulation provides the hours.
CONDOMINIO [via e numero civico, città]
AVVISO AI CONDÒMINI E AGLI OCCUPANTI
Orari di quiete
Si ricorda che, ai sensi dell'art. [__] del regolamento di condominio,
nelle seguenti fasce orarie vanno evitati i rumori che possono
disturbare il riposo degli altri condòmini:
- giorni [feriali]: dalle [__] alle [__] e dalle [__] alle [__];
- [sabato, domenica e festivi]: dalle [__] alle [__].
I lavori nelle unità vanno comunicati in anticipo all'amministratore e
annunciati con apposito avviso.
Il regolamento è consultabile [presso l'amministratore / indicare dove].
[Luogo], [data] L'amministratore
____________________
Version B: the regulation does not provide them.
CONDOMINIO [via e numero civico, città]
AVVISO AI CONDÒMINI E AGLI OCCUPANTI
Rispetto della quiete
Nel condominio il regolamento non indica fasce orarie di quiete.
Si invitano tutti a evitare, in particolare nelle ore [di riposo
pomeridiano e notturne], rumori che possano disturbare gli altri.
Nell'ordine del giorno della prossima assemblea sarà inserita la
proposta di inserire nel regolamento una clausola sugli orari di
quiete. Chi vuole contribuire può scrivere a [recapito amministratore].
[Luogo], [data] L'amministratore
____________________
A notice reminds people of a rule; it does not create one. That is why version B speaks of an invitation, and takes the proposal to the assembly.
Getting it to everyone
A quiet-hours notice is not a convocation: it does not have the mandatory channels of art. 66, which stay registered mail, certified email, fax or hand delivery for the assembly. So you can post and send it as you prefer.
Unitify's notice generator lets you paste the text and print it in A4. The interface is not yet in Italian, but every text field is free, so you can write the notice in Italian. On Unitify the same notice reaches every owner in the app, by email and on the building website, with read receipts (the app does not yet have an Italian interface; the texts you write stay in Italian); the resident app can also reach people who live in the building without appearing in the owners' register.
Which other systems can be connected to the firm (payments, intercom, meters) is covered in condominium software integrations in 2026.
If your firm wants to stop redoing the same notices by hand for every condominium, you can start free from the Unitify page for Italy.
Sources: Civil Code, arts. 844, 1130, 1136 and 1138; implementing provisions of the Civil Code, arts. 66 and 70; Law 26 October 1995, no. 447, art. 6, Normattiva, accessed 16.10.2026. The quotations are our translation of the Italian text; the source texts are in the internal pack research/66.
Frequently asked questions
Who sets quiet hours in an Italian condominium?
Not the Civil Code. Quiet hours, where they exist, are in the condominium regulation, which must be approved by the assembly with the majority of art. 1136, second paragraph, and in any municipal rules on noise. To know which apply to your building you have to read the regulation and, for the municipality, the municipal regulation.
Are there quiet hours that apply across Italy?
In the condominium provisions of the Civil Code (arts. 1117-1139) and in the implementing provisions (arts. 61-72) the words for silence, quiet, rest, hours and noise do not appear. The hours that circulate online do not come from there. Other sources, such as municipal regulations and regional rules, have to be checked case by case.
How do you add or change quiet hours in the regulation?
Any co-owner may take the initiative to form the regulation or revise the existing one (art. 1138, second paragraph). The regulation must then be approved by the assembly with a majority of those present and at least half of the building's value, and attached to the register of minutes. The proposal must be stated specifically on the agenda of the notice.
Can someone be fined for breaking quiet hours?
Art. 70 of the implementing provisions provides that for breaches of the condominium regulation a sum of up to 200 euros may be set and, for repeat offences, up to 800 euros, and that imposing the penalty is decided by the assembly with the majorities of art. 1136, second paragraph. A notice on the board is not a resolution of the assembly.
Is a notice on the board enough to make a quiet hour valid?
No. A notice reminds people of a rule; it does not create one. The hour applies if it is in the regulation approved by the assembly or in a municipal rule; if there is none, the notice can be a courtesy request and the proposal goes to the assembly.
Can the municipality have rules on noise?
Yes: the framework law on noise pollution (Law 447/1995, art. 6) lists among the competences of municipalities the adoption of regulations implementing the rules on protection from noise pollution. What they say, and whether they set time bands, depends on the municipality.