Can HOA fix water damages against my will at the moment of leakage?

I, as a owner, have had a water leakage problem in my condo which is on the ground floor.
It was caused by dripping from a washer connection.
(The water was on the floor so the wall damage was minimal.)
A couple of mopping removed all the water on the floor.

HOA already sent out a wet wall drying company to make a repair the water damage to the wall at the time of leakage. How fast they are! They arrived even before me even before the source of leakage was found and tightened. They were ready to dry the wet walls!

We refused the specific company's service because I wanted to replace the damaged portion of the wall. Drying wet walls seemed to me so ineffective, time-consuming and expensive. Replacing the walls at the height of max 2 ft from floor for less than 20 ft will cost $500 and can be done in one day.

The company left.
And then came back momentarily due to the HOA order.
I refused them to come into my unit because the emergency situation ended.
But they forcefully came in and tore down the bottoms of my Kitchen Sink Base Cabinets and INTERNAL walls to dry insides of them. I told HOA over the phone at the scene I would let it fixed first thing in the morning but HOA wouldn't listen.

Drying the wet walls started at the time of leakage on the same day agaisnt my will!

The length of external wall they are drying is only 1 ft which is beside the entrance door. (External wall may be forcefully repaired according to the bylaw of HOA, only if the owner wouldn't fix it in a reasonable amount of time frame.)

They are still running the humidifier and fan after 10 days of the incident.

I strongly disagree that REMEDY to a water damage CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. Especially, when it is limited to internal walls and kitchen cabinets. The owner must be able to fix the damage in a reasonable way he wants.

Please don't hesitate to provide me with your advise or opinion.

Also, just noticed that you said they came before you'd even discovered the source of the leaking.

A couple of thoughts here. Perhaps they knew there was a leak SOMEWHERE in the building and hired professionals to deal with it.

Did you alert them to the leak? If not, then it's probably not as small as you thought, because someone brought it to the attention of the HOA.

If there was an undetermined leak in a shared building, that's an HOA issue regardless of which unit it is in. Next question: do you all have separate water bills or one bill that's either split or covered by your assessment?

I am looking through my CC&Rs to see what they say about "emergency situations." Ultimately, that's where you will find your answer, in your governing documents.

Regardless of whether it was right or not, it happened. If the HOA forwards the bill to you, then you have the right to dispute it, and I probably would in your situation. But once again, it depends on your covenants.

I am afraid your are totally misunderstood.
But, thanks for the reply.

When I left the condo in the morning, the water was not dripping.
At 4 pm, I have got a call from HOA. If this is 'long enough' and 'ignore', it is my fault. I admit it.

I just want to be responsible and fix it in an acceptable way of my own.
Drying dirty wet pants doesn't make sense to me. I would buy a new pair of pants for a lot less money.

Thanks again for your opinion.
The water bill is included in the monthly HOA fee so there is no separate bill.

I understand and agreee that a water leakage consitute an emergency situation.
Now, the source of leakage was fixed.

The remaining work is the wet wall. - a wet wall constiture an emergency?

My question : Does HOA have a legal right to cal 'drying a wet wall' emergency?
(immeditely after the water leak is fixed.)

Our replies crossed paths.

That part is tricky. Even with a small amount of water there can be mold damage, which is a health issue.

In theory, the HOA should just deal with the external wall and leave the interior wall to you. However, there is the whole mold issue if you don't deal with it. More likely than not, they probably figure that they are doing you a favor just having the contractor coming out and dealing with the whole thing at once. But, if you are handy with drywall, I can see why you would disagree.

Like I said, ask the HOA board about it. Maybe you can come up with a compromise.

I am confused on what wall the HOA was fixing. Was it an internal wall or an external wall? What kind of exterior does your condo have? Is it stucco? Did the drying of the wall need to happen internally so they had access to the external area?

The details are a bit lacking for clarification. I would say the HOA did have a right to come in to fix their issue if the problem is on the external area of the condo that they needed access to. It's like they can't tell you the repair you are doing is correct so why tell them the one they choose to do is wrong?

I would be interested in knowing what the external structure is like for them to come immediatel in to repair the damage. It could have caused issues for others. I wouldn't believe this is the first time this has happened for them to have such a contractor on speed dial. Most HOA's would have taken weeks or days to figure out how to address the issue. The fast reaction to me seems this isn't the first or only time this has happened. They must know something about how to repair things.

Good question.

Jean

I think some are questioning/asking/saying that if the association became aware of it...somehow...then there might well have been an emergency situation.

Hello So and So Association, how can I help you....this is Mr. White in unit 12....there is water pouring down my ceiling from the unit above me....I went up and beat on their door...no one answered...help me.....

Now that I think about it, a minor leak isn't going to cause you to replace drywall. I know this because I had a leak in my house recently (from a washing machine, as well) and it was literally raining in my kitchen and dining room, and I don't have to replace my drywall because I caught everything in time. So, I am guessing it would have to be a lot of water to need to either dry out the existing drywall or replace it, regardless of which remedy you choose.

My best guess from everything OP has told us is that the water had already penetrated the exterior wall by the time the HOA realized there was an issue. How else would they know? Why else would they care? And, also guessing that they had to access the interior walls to fix their exterior wall. (My washing machine flood caused no issues for any community property. If I weren't on the HOA board, no one would even know it happened.)

Boy your HOA is responsive, and considering it was a water leak, which as minor as it may have sounded could have been a serious problem, is a good thing. IT doesn't take much for mold to grow and in a condominium this is the kind of problem you want to nip in the bud. If the HOA was alerted to the problem from someone else, then the matter may have been bigger than it seemed and may have constituted an emergency. Check your documents. Also, are you being charged for the repairs or are they part of the dues? And 10 days for equipment for what appeared to be a minor leak seems a bit excessive. It is common practice for the remediation companies to charge for usage of the equipment. Are they taking advantage of your responsive board?

I agree with Steve. In associaion type living one is not free to do as they wish and in most cases, I am thankful for that.

If I refused entry and they forcefully enter, I'm contacting the police.

Perhaps you don't mean forcefully?