Common Elements and Plumbing

I'm new to the forum so, please forgive me if I'm not doing this correctly.

We are part of a condo where the Association says the plumbing that is outside our unit, and not accessible from our unit is our responsibility. Recently, some repairs were needed to pipes outside our unit and the association hired a plumber to fix the leak. This cost $1,200.

To access the pipes, the plumber needed to go through the wall in the unit below ours (by removing some sheetrock) and this cost about $600.

Now, we are facing charges of $1,800 for plumbing and drywall work related to a leaking pipe that is outside the boundaries of our unit.

In our discussion with the person who coordinated the repairs, we were told that pipe in the walls that were vertical were considered "Common Elements" and the horizontal pipes that served our unit(Limited Common Elements) were our responsibility.

Can plumbing that is inaccessible from a Condo unit be treated this way?

Does this sound fair / correct to you all?

Jeff

In general, the Water department is responsible from street to meter. Meter to house is the owner's responsibility. So if have a leak on your street, water department comes. A leak from meter in a Plumber is summoned.

There are a few relevant paragraphs -

Apartment Unit Definition and Boundaries

(Longer paragraph removed)

The apartment units shall not be deemed to include the floors, ceilings, or any load-bearing walls, nor any pipes, wires ducts, cables, conduits, chases or other utility or service lines running in or through an apartment unit and installed, designed or utilized to serve more than one apartment unit, and the exterior walls of adjacent lanais, the same being deemed common elements.

Under Common Elements -
* All ducts, electrical equipment, wiring and other central and appurtenant installations including power, light, water, sewer, gas and telephone; and all pipes, plumbing, wires, conduits or other utility or service lines, which run through an apartment but which are utilized by or serve more than one apartment.

Limited Common Elements -
* If any chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, or any other fixture lies partially within and partially outside the designated boundaries of an apartment unit, any portion thereof serving only that apartment unit is a limited common element appurtenant solely to that apartment unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one apartment unit or any portion of the common elements is part of the common elements.

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The maintenance manager told me that the HOA had a policy that horizontal pipes were the responsibility of individual apartment (Condo) owners while the vertical pipes where the responsibility of the HOA. However, when I read the definition of the Limited Common Elements it says "partially within and partially outside" the designated boundaries. In my case, I believe the pipe in question is completely outside the boundary of my unit (as I was told that I couldn't get to it from my unit and the plumber fixed it by going through a unit below mine).

What do you all think?

the difference between limited and general common elements is often mistakenly used by an uninformed board or property manager to charge an owner for repairs.

THE IMPORTANT CLAUSE TO LOOK FOR.. m

Maintenance responsiblities.

Our condominiums. both limited and general common elements are considered common expenses. (with the exception of negligence)...

For years, the association was charging owners for the cost to repair the plumbing lines behind walls if it served only their unit.

THIS was incorrect. The board refused to admit they were wrong. The owner went to court. The owner was right. The association had to reimburse numerous owners who had been charged for repairs that were actually the responsiblity of the association.

For condominiums in texas goverened under TUCA 82. limited common elements that serve only one unit and repairs thereof are the owners responsiblity.. THIS IS A HUGE difference.

Note old post.