Italian Supreme Court: on the identification of the common parts of a building forming part of a condominium

On 25 March 2026, judgment No. 7222 of the Supreme Italian Supreme Court (Section II Civil) was filed, concerning condominium law and the criteria for overcoming the presumption of co-ownership (presunzione di comunione) under Article 1117 of the Civil Code.

The dispute concerned the classification of the under-stair space and its amenability to the regime of common parts, from which it had been excluded by the Court of Appeal of Palermo; the second-instance court had, moreover, recognised it as exclusively owned by the owners of the entire ground floor.

The Italian Supreme Court quashed the impugned decision, reaffirming that the assets listed in Article 1117 of the Civil Code are presumed to be common and that this presumption can be rebutted exclusively on the basis of the results of the title that gave rise to the formation of the condominium, i.e. the division of the building into individual properties.

It follows that when a condominium unit owner claims exclusive ownership of one of the assets listed in Article 1117 of the Civil Code — since proof of exclusive ownership simultaneously demonstrates the co-ownership of the assets contemplated by that provision — in order to rebut that presumption, it is incumbent upon the claiming condominium unit owner to furnish proof of his alleged exclusive ownership, without the title of acquisition of himself or his grantor being relevant for that purpose where such title is not the constitutive act of the condominium, but a disposition made by the initial sole owner who had not reserved to himself the exclusive ownership of the asset.

The judgment was accordingly quashed with remittal to the Court of Appeal of Palermo, sitting in a different composition.

To access the decision, click here.