owners property/common area/hirise condos

Started by WayneG1 • 2 replies • 569 views

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WayneG1 (California)
Posts: 40

Posted:

The building c c and r's are very unclear but the rule is everything inside the unit belongs to the owner including the
baseboard hot water heaters. I don't understand how a part of a system can belong to the owner and the rest, boilers, pipes, etc. belong to hoa. Owners are being told they are responsible for replacing and paying for the 50 year old
baseboard fintubes and pipes when leaks occur.Should'nt the hoaa be responsible for this as it is part of the whole system? (rules also state that hoa is responsible for providing heat to the units).

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

You may want to review the CCRs with an attorney to help you understand what's responsible. The developer/builder prepares the original documents and if your building is 50 years old, they were probably written in a way to favor the developer. When the building was turned over, the documents could have been changed by the homeowners, but frankly, developers don't always do a good job in educating the new board as to what the association will be responsible for and people learn about all this (and the costs that comes with it) the hard way.

I don't live in a high rise, but I would think access has something to do with the answer. The baseboard hot water heaters are in individual units and so the homeowner is the one who may turn it on or off or set the temperature. Maintenance would also be their responsibility because that unit is there for YOUR use, not everyone else's - if you don't do the proper maintenance or misuse the equipment, you should be responsible for repairs.

On the other hand, the pipes run throughout the building to serve everyone and if they have problems, a number of homeowners, not just one unit, will be affected, so it makes sense that the association would be responsible.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Welcome, Wayne. You should find the difference between your responsibilities and the HOA's in your CC&Rs. I'm in a high rise too and the heat/AC system in a closet in my unit is my responsibility. This is common partly because residents can actually damage times in their units, but not the pipes that bring hot water to it.

It doesn't matter that yours are old, that just means it's time for you to replace them. some Owners' AC/heat units are going out in my high rise too and they're 17 years old. Mine probably won't for a long time because we rarely use it.

sheila sums this up nicely in her last two paragraphs.

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