Does Unit consist of interior space or more?

Two sections of our Declaration have recently raised questions. For clarity, although they may be closely related, I think I should post each to its own thread. Hope I am not breaking any rules. Our Declaration states:

6. Description of Units.
(b) Each Unit shall constitute a single freehold estate and shall consist of all of the space bounded by the undecorated and/or unfinished interior surfaces of its perimeter walls, load bearing walls, lowermost floors, uppermost ceilings, windows and window frames, door and door frames. Each Unit includes both portions of the Building within such boundaries and the space so encompassed, including, without limitation, the decorated surfaces, including paint, lacquer, varnish, wallpaper, paneling, tile, carpeting and any other finishing materials applied to interior walls, doors, floors and ceiling and interior surfaces of permanent walls, interior surfaces of interior walls, and interior doors.

A controversy has arisen over the interpretation of "...shall consist of all of the space bounded by the undecorated and/or unfinished interior surfaces of its perimeter walls, load bearing walls, lowermost floors, uppermost ceilings, windows and window frames, door and door frames." Some read this to mean we own only the space within the boundaries. Others think it means the space + the windows and doors. Any opinions?

The issue first arose at our apartment type condo because one owner, whose door to the lobby had become very difficult to open and shut, was told by a Director that she had to have the door fixed (actually, the door frame) at her expense, even though there was general agreement that the building settling was probably the cause of the problem.

BTW this is an easy repair for the door. Just take the door off the hinges and shave down the door where it bumps. It can be sanded down with a hand sander.

With all due respect, I don't understand how, without having inspected the door, you can determine it is an "easy repair." The door is metal clad, the owner is in her seventies and the question isn't how easy a repair it is, but whose responsibility it is to repair it based on the Declaration language quoted above.

I was kinda hoping someone on this forum may have dealt with very similar language. Thanks, anyway.

FrankF3,
I interpret your quote to mean ownership is of the space bounded by those surfaces. For Condos the buyer owns only the space and not the boundary fixtures. Thus I believe the maintenance of the door is the responsibility of the Association.

Frank, have you read ALL of the CC&R's? Ours describes a unit much like yours does but elsewhere they also state that windows and doors are the homeowners responsibility.

Or and this might be controversial, have you considered asking the Board how they came to the conclusion it was the homeowner's responsibility?

Personally, I think the language is clear enough - owners own the space bounded by the surfaces of the components cited and not the components themselves, but the Board president and property manager conclude that owners are also responsible for the doors and windows. One director has suggested that the matter should be taken to a lawyer. It might have to be, but I questioned the wisdom of an opinion given by their lawyer in the past, so have mixed feelings about this route.

I have read all of our documents and recently came across another mention of doors/windows that is going to complicate the matter. I brought the following to the attention of a long-time resident and director, and he seemed unaware of this section of our Declaration:
33. Assessment and Collection of Common Expenses.
(b) Common Expenses Attributable to Fewer than all Units:
(i) Any Common Expense associated with the maintenance, repair or
replacement of components and elements attached to, planted on, or a
part of yards, patios, decks, exterior surfaces, trim, siding, doors,
windows and elevators shall be assessed against *the Unit or Units to
which the Limited Common Element is assigned*. If any such limited
Common Element is assigned to more than one Unit, the Common Expenses
attributable to the Limited Common Element shall be assessed equally
among the Units to which it is assigned.

The director implied that this had not been enforced and thought enforcement could be problematic, since owners have the "expectation" that the HOA will provide (and fund) the maintenance of these components. I have two doors that provide entrance/exit: the front door to the vestibule serving 4 of our 32 Units (therefore: a Limited Common Area); and the back door which opens to our patio/deck. The language in 33(b)(i) seems imprecise at best and should be changed, but, aside from that, I am interested in opinions here on HOA Talk.

(Note: Appx 2 years ago the HOA installed about 6 new back doors and there was no controversy that I am aware of. This seems to matter little to the folks now in charge.)

For clarity: In fact, the president is saying the previous property manager holds that the doors are the owner's responsibility, yet she --(the property manager)-- is the one that presided over the HOA bequeath-ment of the exterior doors to the 6 Units I mentioned earlier, so I am puzzled.

I don't think the word "assigned" is defined in the passage that you've cited. Does it mean that the deed would specify these assignments? Is "assigned" defined in the glossary of terms for your CC&Rs? It sure does sound potentially very complicated.

On floors 3-17 of both our towers, 5 units have doors to the hallway that leads to the elevator vestibule on each floor. Those hallways are common areas, not limited common elements. Any resident who wishes can enter my hallway no matter what floor he lives on.

Higher floors--18-25-- have many configurations including a few floors that only have two units on them, some townhouse style units which have doors to two stories of hallways, etc. Imagine trying to divvy up dues based on how many doors to each corridor!

Do review your reserves study to see if the repair, replacement or both of doors to corridors are on it.

You may also actually need to review the original condominium plan that your developer recorded with the state's Dept. of Real Estate. The DRE Budget is where I found clarity to similar issues that you're raising--when the CC&Rs were ambiguous.

At some point, though, your board, not the prez or PM will have to make a decision via their vote at an open meeting about how to handle these doors. And they may very well need your HOA attorney's written opinion. Even if you're disappointed in some of the attorney's work your particular issue may be one that s/he's seen a lot of in the past.

Good point. But appreciating this kind of detail takes the kind of attentive thought that few owners and Board members have shown evidence of. I believe condo ownership is largely made up of people who do not want to take a close look at such things. Asking them to consider details about construction (or in another recent controversy, insurance) is not usually welcomed. They have busy lives and expect local professionals will take care of things. I am a skeptic about many things. Now more than ever.

My experience with my really complex HOA leads me to agree with you. Most owners and most directors are not interested in the nuances of, say, the DRE budget or original condo plan. Many probably most, choose this style of life so that we don't have to think about such things.

As I mentioned early on, as director for 6 years, I would not want residents messing with our very expensive doors to our corridors, such work also cold damage our common area corridors' wallpaper, carpeting etc. The other aspect of this is, if a corridor side of a door gets banged into and damaged by, say, movers, or residents losing control of our large luggage carts, we cannot know for sure who did the damage--the resident or someone else on our floors, or even a lost partier who gets off on the wrong floor and bashed into a door. These are reasons why the exterior of the door or the entire door is HOA responsibility and their replacement is built into our reserves schedule. We also each have a door to our exclusive use patios/balconies/decks, which is the responsibility of unit owners.

I haven't heard before of assigned common areas--thanks for defining it for me.