Separate Interest or Limited Common Area

Here in Idaho, I work on an HOA Board with responsibility for 47 Townhomes (4 Duplex's & 13 Triplex's) Our units vary from 12 to 16 years old. Our common areas are platted and each unit is platted with the county. Each unit's owner pays annual property taxes to the county for an area that extends approximately 50+% outside of the footprint of each unit. For example my unit is 30' x 30' but my property extends 23' in front and 23' behind my unit (middle unit of a triplex. I consider this ground my personal property since it is deeded to me and I am taxed for it.

Several units in our association have problems with groundwater leakage into their crawlspaces. The soil is very much clay, and as a result groundwater during the wetter periods (spring melt and during heavy storms)tends to seep under the foundations and in some cases can cause a standing water situation of several inches on top of the black plastic in portions of the crawlspace. The crawlspaces in all of the 47 units are only accessed through an entry in the owners closet of their master bedroom. Central air and heat is also located in the crawls. Many folks use the crawls for storage.The crawlspaces are private property and individually owned.

My question is, under the circumstances just mentioned, should the seepage of ground water into any of these crawlspaces be considered a maintenance issue for the individual owner or the HOA. Our CC&R's, which are a poor excuse for being a legal and interpret-able document, does not mention anything regarding the crawlspaces, and whom is responsible for maintenance and repairs. I feel maybe the HOA Boards best option here would be to amend the CC&R's to specifically state what is and what isn't considered common area vs. a separate privately owned interest. Vague CC&R's can cause major interpretation issues. Yes, it would require a vote of the membership, but I would think over 67% of the owners would not want to be liable for someone else's crawlspace maintenance and repair costs, especially since someone did a crappy job with the CC&R's when this place was turned over to the owners HOA.

If you own the land, why wouldn't you be responsible for water damage? If your CC&Rs are silent on water issues, then I don't see how anyone can claim that the HOA is responsible.

On the other hand, if this problem is affecting a lot of owners, I can see where the HOA might work to help them resolve issues as a group (since most HOA's have the right to act on behalf of their membership), I believe that the cost of those efforts should be allocated to the affected owners.

I lean toward separate interest.

Our CC&R's spell it out fairly well with regard to other issues such as the roof's and gutters, exterior painting, landscaping, walkways, parking areas, and other maintenance that everyone benefits from. But when the CC&R's specifically define a "Unit" as being "studs inward" and the ground the unit is situated on including the detached garage as shown on the county plats.......it seems obvious that the crawlspace is part of the platted lot that the unit sits on, which is taxed private property, not even limited common area!