water stains on top floor ceiling

We have a 16 unit townhouse complex in California. 3 buildings.

A homeowner has reported that there is a water stain on her ceiling. There is a non accessible attic above her and then the roof. The HOA replaced the roofs a few years prior to the reported damage. The roof has a warranty but it does not cover damage to the interiors, as explained by the company rep when I called them. They will come out and inspect the property and patch where they see problems during the warranty period.

The water damage was reported to us at the end of a dry summer. Our insurance company agent has told us that the HOA's insurance does not cover damage from slow leaks, which this probably is. The coverage is for fast leaks immediately reported.

The roofing company has inspected the roof and patched around some flashing that possibly could be the problem but the supervisor believes it more likely to be a problem of water getting into the pipes exposed on the roof.

Whose responsibility is it to repair the water stain? The HOA? or homeowner?

If it is provable that the stain was caused by a leak by something the Association maintains, then it would likely be the Association.

Personally, if it was me, expecting that the leak issue was addressed, I would buy some stain blocker ($5-$20) and paint over the stain. If the leak was not fixed, the stain will return (even through the stain blocker). If the leak doesn't return, great. If it does, there is more of an issue and someone will need to access the attic to do a through inspection to determine the cause.

Tino

It is fairly obvious the damage is not from a unit above hers as she is the top unit.

It is also fairly obvious the damage is probably from outside her unit, thus probably the association's issue one way or another.

Time for the association to put on their big boy panties and have the association (like in pay for) investigate the damage investigated versus duck the responsibility.

I could be wrong.

re: attic access via 1 hatch

assuming some side by side units

you should not be able to access multiple units via 1 hatch

because

wait for it

wait

wait

there should be fire walls between the units INCLUDING THE ATTIC SPACE

you have much much much bigger issues than a water mark

Not all mold is bad. People panic when they hear the word mold or see some specks of it somewhere. Most mold can be cleaned up with a mixture of bleach and water. Sometimes afterward a new coat of paint to reseal.

I have a pet peave about mold and Radon gas panics...Mold is everywhere even in our cheese...Only certain types are bad and are rare to be found. This situation can easily be fixed by a mixture of bleach, water, and stain vlocker like Tim suggests. That way can see if it an on going leak or not.

I hate companies that convince people they got mold and need to spend tons of money to take care of it. It's a HUGE con playing people's fears...Not unlike water purification sales people...I too can show you a positive mold result on a Q tip and tell you the dangers of mold...Just leave out the part that it is normal and that it's not the kind that causes health issues...but it could be!!!