Can an HOA enforce maintenance in condos?

We are a condo HOA too, two high rises. Our previous & current HOA general counsels advised against the HOA demanding Owners pay for mandatory inspections or repairs of our separate interest items in our condos. Here and I think most condos, Owners are indeed obligated to maintain their valves, faucets, toilet seals, etc. These are our separate property.

So we have an annual voluntary inspection of clothes dryer duct work that terminates usually on our balcony ceilings. It's $72. And we have a voluntary inspection of our water source heat pumps (HVAC units) in our condos at about $90 apiece. The purpose of both is to prevent water damage to our own condos and the common areas or condos below. But both attorneys and our construction defect attorneys advised against making these inspections mandatory. They do not meet the criteria of the HOA entering because of an emergency.

Every owner gets a report and it's their obligation to make necessary repairs, if any.

A Board member wanted to have a mandatory plumbing inspection of all units' fixtures because our towers were about 17 y.o at the time. Our GC advised against it and made it voluntary. I think is it was $125. Maybe half of our 200+ owners did this.

As with most OR maybe all condos, our CC&Rs permit the HOA to come in and do work if something IS threatening common areas or other condos. In the case of these separate interest valves, it seems they MIGHT be a threat. That they're "cheap" may not matter unless there's a report from an independent plumbing expert, not someone who could profit, that states they must all be replaced to avoid damage to common areas or other condo.

Otherwise, I think your board should send a letter to all owners offering the replacement and explaining why without exaggerating the issues. Make sure they know that if their valve fails and causes damage to other units, they will be completely responsible. Also advise them to turn off the valve to their washing machine and other items if they'll be away for any length of time and to NOT run their washers or dishwashers when not at home or when asleep. We have these tips & others in our Welcome Package.

This would be a double failure of sorts: First the valve is stuck open, and second the overflow tube was not draining the tank adequately. The overflow is a redundant safety feature and was not doing its job for some reason. This sort of failure is rare.

On the other hand, it is true that a cistern fill valve assembly (which is what failed) that is ten years old is pushing it. If any of these lasted ten years, I would not call this "fairly poor quality."

My bigger concern would be water waste due to a failed flapper valve. Does each condo unit have its own water meter? Or per chance, does the condo association pay all the water bills?

If each unit has its own water meter, then I doubt the governing documents permit entry for this item. If the condo association as a whole pays all the water bills, then I bet I could find justification in the governing documents to order owners to replace their fill valve assembly and flapper valve; provide a receipt to the front office; and subject each unit to a periodic inspection. Failure to do so could result in a fine.

A leaking flapper valve can waste 200 gallons per day (small leak) to a few thousand gallons per day (large leak).

For non-emergency situations, under no circumstances should the Condo Association replace that which is not the Association's maintenance responsibility. The liability risk is too great. The instant the Association contracts an agent to do this work, I'd argue the Association becomes responsible for maintaining the entire toilet.

One could rationalize all manner of entries into an owner's unit on grounds that xyz could damage the common area, because xyz is a fire risk; might leak water; weighs too much, could fall over and might damage areas between walls; and so on. The lines are never perfectly clear, but the lines have to be drawn.

It depends on what the documents say, John. "Safety deficiency" is too vague a phrase. In our CC&Rs, the HOA only can order inspections or make repairs in units if there's an emergency that threatens other condos or the common areas. Per ours, they cannot come in and replace something to save the HOA money. there COULD be a well-publicized voluntary program to replace flappers in toilets, whereby owners could pay a cheap bulk rate to replace their flappers. But, in the past few years they're been a lot of remodels here with more efficient toilets installed. We do not have separate meters for water.

In multi-story buildings, there are numerous potential sources of water leaks and floods. It's a risk that folks should understand when they purchase. We have dire warnings in our Welcome Packet. Several years ago, we had a gaggle of original garbage disposals fail when they'd reached the end of their lives doing some water damage to the unit involved and one or more below.

We've more recently had leaks from around shower pans due to 18 y.o. grout & caulking material that withered and cracked. Some damage to the ceiling below. A resident in one was a 350lb. NFL nose tackle, whose weight may have played a role. IMO, education of owners is key.

Howdy, new to this highly useful forum and enjoyed your description of policy at your HOA. In an aging multistory condominium in Arizona we have begun to have multiple plumbing issues with severe damage to adjoining units. Board members are reluctant to intervene in noncommon area damage and have come up with no useful policy. They resist even voluntary inspections as exposing the HOA to liability. The argument is that the HOA cannot recommend plumbing fixes for fear they will be sued if these result in problems. My question is: what policies have reduced the incidence of plumbing disasters in multi-story condominium complexes?