Condo Association Management Blog

Depends on what the Association master insurance policy covers - or, if below the deductible, I believe the Association is obligated to pay for whatever damage was caused by the leaks.

Damage within a unit caused by a problem with the common arfea of the building is universally the respoonsibility of the association to repair. Without knowing all the details of your rpesent situation and damage I feel yourn bedroom must be restored to its original condition and that the total bill is the responsibility of the association. Look for conformation in your state condominium law.

Agree. More support for this may be found in other sections of your bylaws that require each unit to be maintained to a certain standard.

A lot of associations only cover from the drywall out and then the unit owner is responsible for the paint in. Be sure to check your condo docs and also your personal insuance company. Each state has their own rulings on condo damages no matter who is responsible.

Your situation is unusual. If you are really uncomfortable with the noise situation, it may be easier to get a quote, find out the expense of taking care of the problem and finding peace in your life. You may find the cost is reasonable compared to the grief and disruption in your life.  
 
On the other hand,you could contact an attorney, pay a consultation fee and find you still don't have peace because the Association may not be responsible for your issue. The cost may be the same for the attorney or the correction of the problem.  
 
Sometimes it's just easier to solve the problem and carry on with your life. 
 
Your Choice.Good luck.

Check your CC&Rs. For example our specifically state that the association is not responsible for any repairs inside the unit even if damage is caused by common elements problems. 
 
When we had a roof leak and two units were affected. We repaired the roof, but inside of unites was left to each owner to deal with. 
 
I've seen similar language in other associations' governing docs.

Yeah - Good Luck! I'm in Florida and President of our association. I can tell you definitively that we would NOT cover ANYTHING WITHIN your apartment. This is clearly written in the Association Documents. Additionally, we require owners to maintain their own homeowners insurance. If a "common element" started the damage, we will repair the "common element" and drywall only. Paint, carpet, furniture, mold abatement, flooring, cabinets, etc....are YOUR responsibility; all these items are "within" your home. This is why you carry homeowners insurance. Connie above said this clearly.

I am on the board of my HOA and we I had the same problem. Our documents say Association fixes the outside repair and I am responsible for all inside repairs. Make sure you have homeowners insurance, but in most cases the repair may be is less than any deductible.

Your homeowner's insurance policy may not cover structural repairs because most of them cover contents only unless you have specifically added structural coverage. My association's policy has a $5,000 deductible, and so repairs would not be covered up to that amount, and the board would not kick in any money up to that point from the treasury.

Every condo board member needs to be familiar with the State requirements which have a priority to documents. The board needs to confirm at least yearly with legal counsel any developments which affect the handling of claims. Court decisions can affect the actions required by a board in maintaining property. Empty units prior to the process of being foreclosed may become the expense of the association and must be considered in budgets. 
 
Many states through their Condo Act require that the deductible is the obligation of the condominium and is paid through the Operating Budget. In instances where the damage originates within the unit, the deductible (or as in Maryland where it is limited to the first $5,000) is the responsibility of the unit owner.  
However, here the Court of Appeals has recently ruled that the Board has an absolute responsibility to maintain the property.  
 
Whether as required by law or just by reasonable understanding by board members, at least yearly the board should inform the owners as to the insurance requirements and the procedures for owners to follow when a damage event occurs. A reminder about the individual Owner policy (HO-6) and about renter insurance (HO-4) which every investor owner should require will help the condo collectively.  
 
Mortgage lenders are following the lead of FHA and analyzing the condo budget to ensure that it includes a line item for the deductible. FHA fortunately is requiring that the purchaser carry HO-6 insurance. New condo documents may include this and may provide for notice of coverage to the association.  
 

The fact is, if the water damage comes from the unit above and causes damage to the unit below, the owners of the above unit are responsible.It is very important for an owner to have insurance for plumbing.Believe me. I speak from experience. I see plumbing issues all the time.Strangely enough the problems seem to start from above. Recently we had 2 of the top units have plumbing problems which caused damage to the bottom units. It pays to be prepared.I have the insurance and would not be without it.

The condo assoc should have an umbrella policy. Usually there is a deductible about $5,000. The homeowner is responsible for this, but above that the HOA policy should repair your unit back to "builders grade". In other words you are responsible for any improvements in which your policy will cover. As president here in New Jersey I deal with this issue all the time.

Work done 10/0/2011 The garage had a leak traced the leak to the bath tub drain. Leak caused by tenant taking a bath and allowing water to repeatedly overflow into the drain . Complete bathroom was wet. Plumbers returned and replaced the waste and overflow. Reset the toilet. fixed the flooring tested and caulked. They Opened the garage ceiling and removed and replaced the old bend and flange. Refitted the toilet, floor etc. 4 months later the owners presented the Home Owners Association with a 2,000 portion of the 3,200. bill. labor, travel and materials.  
Our homeowners are responsible for plumbing inside the walls but I feel we were never consulted when the work was done, and the "claimed" old bend and flange has been there since the building was first built, 25 years ago and this area was only weakened by the water going into the bathtub drain by the tenant repeatedly allowing the water to overflow due to her poor bathing habits.  
They want the homeowners to reimburse $2,00 0 of their 3,200 plumbing bill.

Most associations are responsible to fix any damage to a unit if the damage was caused by a leaking roof , a shared water pipe or from faulty spouting. Leaks around windows and doors are another instance. I would consider your damage from the soffit the same. If the other walls were damaged as well as the one inside wall then yes. But if your looking to have the other walls done that we're not damaged, then the expense would be on you for that. 
Make sure this is the case and present it to the association for debate, otherwise you will only get 1 wall and your ceiling fixed unless the ceiling caused the damage to the other walls. If not then be prepared to lay out some money for the other walls. Couldn't tell you for sure unless I seen it in person. Good luck. 
 

Unfortunately the statement above is just not a true statement. The association is only responsible for fixing inside of your unit if it's specified in governing documents or if you can proof negligence on association's part.