By Stephane Dupont, The Dupont Law Firm
With Spring finally upon us, community associations and homeowners alike are planning for necessary repairs and renovations. Particularly in condominium and townhome communities, there can be a great deal of confusion and ambiguity surrounding who is financially responsible to either insure or maintain and repair a particular improvement.
An association’s covenants define the various maintenance and repair obligations for both homeowners and the association and also address who is responsible for insuring buildings and other improvements. However, those covenants often contain conflicting or ambiguous language which make it very difficult, time consuming, and impractical to determine who is required to repair or insure a particular item. Community association managers and board members are frequently inundated with questions from owners seeking immediate answers relating to their various maintenance and insurance obligations. This often requires the assistance of legal counsel, perhaps at a significant cost, if the inquiries are numerous. If your Association’s covenants are vague and appear ‘outdated’, you will likely face an incessant and frustrating journey dealing with these issues.
Fortunately, an Association can request that their legal counsel prepare a maintenance and insurance chart that specifically addresses the vast majority of maintenance and insurance related obligations in a matrix or chart like format. For example, a chart created for a condominium association may address who is responsible for maintaining or replacing exterior doors, plumbing, or a limited common element patio while also providing guidance on who is required to insure those improvements. This information is not only useful to boards and community association managers but can also be disseminated to homeowners to help clarify their obligations. Ultimately, this helps minimize further inquiries to the board and/or community association manager and deters unnecessary litigation brought by owners who may not properly understand their maintenance and insurance obligations.
Stephane Dupont is an attorney with The Dupont Law Firm and has over 21 years of experience representing common interest communities in general business, collection, and litigation related matters.
