Hoa asking for me to pay half of repair but doesn’t send a proper invoice

I asked my HOA to make some repairs. They agreed and now sent me a letter requesting I split the cost. There is no actual proof of payment on their end just a copy of the contractors initial bid and a letter saying my half they are requesting is x amount. Do I have to just pay this? Aren’t there things I should expect to see on an invoice if they want to bill me?

Jamie,

There are so many unknowns, nobody would be able to accurately say if you have to pay or not.

If you are concerned over the charges, ask for a more detailed invoice.

Your CC&Rs/Declaration should spell out who is responsible for what.

Is the repaired item the HOA's responsibility, or is it the homeowners'? Given that they took it on, I assume that it is the HOA's responsibility (I suppose it could be shared item, but that's unusual and the CC&Rs would have to spell out how the costs were shared).

The HOA should also have some sort of written agreement with the homeowner spelling out how the costs would be split before any work was approved and workers hired (there should be board meeting minutes where this repair was discussed and approved). If they didn't do this and the repaired item was HOA responsibility, I don't see how the homeowner would have any obligation to pay anything. However... you have to look at how much this could spiral if you choose to fight it and how much it could cost in the long run. Maybe a letter from your lawyer saying "nope" in legalese would be enough. Maybe not. If you do decide to pay, a copy of the HOA's invoice (not the bid) would be required.

But these are generalities. Too many unanswered questions here.

I’m not concerned about the charges, but plan to recoup them through lawyers. I just want to know if it’s standard practice to ask for payment without an invoice. They sent a letter after the repairs saying the board is requesting to split the costs and attached the contractors bid. It almost seems like they are just hoping I’ll fold but know they are wrong which is why there was no actual invoice attached. But I also don’t know how HOAs typically bill for this sort of stuff

OK, this sounds like normal condo issues to me.

At least in my community, when there is a maintenance issue that affects common elements and personal property, then the association pays for the repairs to the common elements and the homeowner pays for repairs to their personal property. But that also generally involves two separate sets of repairs and two separate sets of workers, with the homeowner hiring their own workers - it isn't common for the association to handle both unless there is some structural issue that make combined repairs optimal.

In any case, the homeowner should be given a copy of the invoice to prove how much they owe. That's normal business practice and is reasonable.

FYI: in my community homeowners are responsible for maintenance issues with their property regardless of whether or not the damage originated in the common elements. A typical example is a roof leak that eventually causes mold on the unit's ceiling or walls. This may change if the damage is the result of an insurable event such as a storm, but this will depend on the kind of insurance the association has.

Long story short, the OP may be responsible for paying the cost of repairs to personal property, in which case suing the HOA to recoup the expense is a non-starter. But that will depend on what the CC&Rs say and what part, if any, insurance will pick up. (HO6 policies often cover things like damage to the unit that originated in an issue elsewhere. But it will depend on what the policy says.)

An additional comment:

I once asked our insurance agent what would happen if one party (either the association or the homeowner) was at fault in some dispute over repairs. He said that they don't look at "fault" - it's strictly who pays for what according to the CC&Rs.

I'll also note that whenever anybody starts talking about suing to recoup anything, they'd better make sure that the cost of going the legal route does not exceed the cost of just paying what the association says they owe. This is especially true since there is no guarantee that the homeowner will win, in which case they'd have to pay for their repair *and* for the cost of losing the fight over it (and possibly increased assessments afterwards if it was an especially costly fight for the association since insurance premiums will rise). It's very easy to get so ticked off over something that you start to make financially unwise mistakes.

As someone else already mentioned, it is not unreasonable to ask for a copy of the contractor's invoice. Not only are you entitled to see the final invoice for the amount that the HOA is asking you to split the bill for, but you are entitled to see any contractor invoice for work done within your association that comes out of all of your funds. This is the only way to make sure no one is making accounting errors or committing fraud.