Is the unit owner or condo association responsible for window repair?

Larry,

In my opinion, if the owner is responsible for the windows, the owner is responsible for painting the window trim.
Others may disagree.

That said, one would have to prove that the board was aware of a problem and did nothing to repair it in order to prove negligence.
This proof would be in copies of letters/replis between you and the board and/or minutes of board meetings.

Your insurance might cover and then your insurance company and fight the COA insurance company to recoup.

This is something I've mentioned before regarding responsibility for interior repairs:

Many boards assume that damage originating in the common elements (eg. a roof leak results in mold and drywall damage to the interior) is always the responsibility of the association.

This isn't true. It all depends what your CC&Rs say about who is responsible for what.

Mold is nearly always considered a maintenance issue, as is a leak in a roof. If your CC&Rs say that the unit owner is responsible for maintaining the interior of the home, then mold remediation and drywall repair is the unit owner's job. The association takes care of the roof since the roof will likely be considered common elements. Homeowners generally don't understand this and are angry about it when they find out.

(The exception would be down south where mold can grow practically overnight as the result of a storm. But storms are insurable events, and when insurance comes into play, it's a whole different ballgame since that's not considered "maintenance".)

The CC&Rs may also have language about unit owner responsibility to inform the association promptly about issues. A leaky roof will show itself pretty quickly as water stains on a unit's ceilings, which are likely to show up before roof inspections that are performed regularly. If the unit owner fails to inform the association, that's hardly the association's fault.

But that's an aside. On to windows.

With windows, again it's what the CC&Rs say. If the windows and their framing are considered part of the unit, and the unit owner is responsible for maintaining, repairing and replacing all parts of the unit, then the owner would also be responsible for painting anything that was replaced when the new window was installed, since painting would be considered maintenance.

Whether the windows are considered part of the unit will probably depend on the structure of the condominium buildings. Obviously you wouldn't want homeowners climbing around the outside of a high rise condo building, so their CC&Rs will probably be written differently. Condo communities like mine have two story buildings, either townhouse (side by side) style or stacked condos. The windows are defined as part of the units here, so homeowners are responsible for dealing with them. Doors here also are considered parts of the unit, so painting falls on the owners as well. The only thing our association paints is trim, and our CC&Rs specifically mention trim as a common element along with the siding.

To answer questions like the OP's, you may need to read your CC&Rs carefully. In my association's case, we have to read the article where "unit", "common elements", and "limited common elements" are defined in detail. Then we need to read the article that spells out who is responsible for what. Finally, we need to understand the difference between "maintenance" and an insurable event. The general rule of thumb for an insurable event is something that is sudden, unpredictable, and not preventable through normal prudent care (eg. a storm, earthquake, sink hole, flood, fire, etc.).

I am a bit confused on what damage windows are getting and how. Last time I checked, paint doesn't protect water damage. It usually hides it. Does not protect or prevent water damage. So don't know why the HOA not keeping up with exterior maintenance like painting bears much weight on the window damage.

Our HOA we would most likely approve the windows color/type but not do the actual work. We've been asked to approve an install for a window that wasn't previously installed. (Someone closed in an old open interior patio area). So do not think the HOA would pay for window install other than approving it.

When you ask the HOA to pay for something, your asking that ALL your neighbors pay for it. Is that something you think all your neighbors should? Seems exterior maintenance yes. Personal window no.

We're a high rise condo, Larry, and owners in my HOA are responsible for their window panes. Anything on the exterior is on the HOA as owners have no access to the exterior.

The question about whether lack of maintenance of the exterior, which causes damage to your interior is paid for by the HOA or by the Owner depends on your governing docs. Does the HOA's lack of maintenance of the common area, which damages your separate interest --interior of your unit--give you expectations that the HOA or its insurance pays for your interior work?

I think that's hard to answer. Have you checked with your insurance agent? You may actually need to pay an attorney to interpret your CC&Rs on this point as the latter often are vague or ambiguous.

Your wrote that the window topic is in your Bylaws, Larry. That's very unusual. Can you cite the part about windows for us?