Italian Second-Call Assembly: Constitutive and Deliberative Quorum

An empty first call is the most common outcome of an Italian condominium assembly: few owners show up, quorum is not reached, and everything moves to a second call with lower thresholds. That is a mechanism the law provides for, not a workaround — but the exact numbers, and when they don't drop, are where most confusion happens.

The first-call numbers

Art. 1136 of the Civil Code sets two distinct thresholds for the first call, and they are different thresholds: one to constitute the assembly, one to pass a resolution.

Constitution. The assembly is validly constituted when owners representing two-thirds of the value of the entire building and a majority of the co-owners attend. Both conditions are required together: two-thirds of the value is not enough if it is held by very few people, and a majority of heads is not enough if it represents little value.

Resolution. A resolution is valid when approved by a number of votes representing a majority of those present and at least half the building's value. Again two conditions: a majority of whoever is actually present at that moment (which can be fewer than the constitutive quorum, if someone has left) and a value threshold.

The second-call numbers

If the first call does not reach quorum, the meeting moves to a second call, with lower thresholds — but not as low as often assumed.

Constitution. The second-call assembly is validly constituted when owners representing at least one-third of the value of the entire building and one-third of the co-owners attend.

Resolution. A resolution is valid when approved by a majority of those present, with a number of votes representing at least one-third of the building's value.

Not one-third of those present: one-third of the building's value, calculated on the votes cast by the majority of those present. It is a distinction that trips up a fast read.

When the lower quorum does not apply

Art. 1136 lists matters that stay anchored to the "first-call" majority even when the vote happens on second call. Art. 1136's fourth comma names them: resolutions concerning the appointment and removal of the administrator, litigation outside the administrator's own powers, rebuilding the building or major extraordinary repairs, and the resolutions under arts. 1117-quater, 1120 second comma, 1122-ter and 1135 third comma. For all of these, the required majority stays the second-comma one — a majority of those present representing at least half the building's value — even on second call.

There is a separate case, the fifth comma: resolutions under art. 1120, first comma, and art. 1122-bis, third comma, need a still different majority — a majority of those present and at least two-thirds of the building's value.

The practical point: moving to a second call does not automatically lower every threshold. Before counting votes, you need to know which list the agenda item falls under.

A worked example

A building with 1,000 total millesimi, ten owners.

First call. Five owners attend, representing 550 millesimi. Constitution requires two-thirds of the value (667 millesimi) and a majority of the owners (six of ten): both thresholds are missed — 550 millesimi against 667, five owners against six. The assembly is not constituted, and the meeting moves to a second call.

Second call, set for a different day than the first and no more than ten days later. Four owners attend, representing 400 millesimi. Constitution requires one-third of the value (334 millesimi) and one-third of the owners (four of ten): both thresholds are cleared, so the assembly is validly constituted.

A resolution comes up on an ordinary item — say, approving a maintenance estimate. Three of the four owners present vote in favor, representing 310 millesimi. It needs a majority of those present (met: three of four) and at least one-third of the building's value, i.e. 334 millesimi: 310 is not enough. The resolution fails, even though most of the owners present voted for it, because the value behind the favorable votes stays below the one-third threshold.

If the agenda item had instead been appointing the administrator, it would have needed a majority of those present and at least half the building's value (500 millesimi): with only 400 millesimi in the room, that resolution could not pass at this second call, whatever the vote count.

The calendar between the two sittings

Two distinct rules govern the gap between first and second call, and they are often confused for the same rule because they sound alike.

The second call must fall on a later day than the first and, in any case, no more than ten days after it (art. 1136, third comma). That is a ten-day ceiling between the two sittings.

Separately, art. 66, fourth comma, of the implementing provisions states that the second-call assembly cannot fall on the same calendar day as the first. That is a different rule, in a different article: it bars the same day, it does not set a ten-day deadline. Together, the two rules say: the second sitting falls on a different day than the first, and no more than ten days later — but the second rule is not, as sometimes written, the source of the ten-day limit.

We wrote a separate guide on the notice periods and channels that open the first call here, and on who drafts and signs the verbale that records the vote's outcome, here.

Why the right millesimi matter more than the calendar

What makes applying these numbers tedious is not the law, it is the data behind it: knowing each unit's exact millesimi, who delegated to whom, and therefore how much value is actually represented in the room before voting even starts. A studio that walks into the assembly with a verified millesimi table and proxies already logged calculates quorum as people arrive, not after the verbale is already written.

If calculating quorum and proxies assembly by assembly is where your studio loses the most time, book a demo to see how millesimi and proxies stay ready before the meeting.