homeowner requesting HOA pay rent because unit flooded

Started by Margo • 6 replies • 1267 views

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Margo (Florida)
Posts: 5

Posted:

We are a 74 townhome community in FL. One homeowner had extensive water damage during a tropical storm about 6 weeks ago. They are still out of their home becuase they say it's inhabitable because of mold. They are currently living with a neighbor who has given them a rent receipt for about $1200. The HOA had to wait almost 4 weeks to hear from the developer to see if they would assume any reponsibility. Then we hired a forensic engineering company to assess the damage and that has added another 2 weeks. Now we'll have to hire a contractor and that will prolong their return to their home even longer. I don't believe our docs require us to pay for their living expenses. Has anyone heard of a similar situation?

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Mrgo,
First of all, this was an act of nature. Why is the HOA involved in any of the financial and repair of the townhome?

Had the damage been caused by a plumbing leak or backup in the common wall area, then yes they would have responsibility. I have 3 insurance policies down in Florida and they all say that an act of nature is written on the unit and paid for by the owner. That is what is called flood insurance or hurricane insurance. The HOA has no connection to that. And why would the Developer have anything to do with it unless there is a structural flaw on the building.
If it is a shared wall, then both owners share the cost.

Margo (Florida)
Posts: 5

Posted:

Donna,

The water came pouring in through the windows and appeared to be coming in through the walls. In the garage and the adjoining walls in the kitchen and living room, the water was pouring in from up high, not near the windows. The wallboard and all carpeting, wood flooring, and the lower kitchen cabinets were ruined. Our HOA policy covers nothing because there was no insured event or damage to the outside of the structure. We are trying to get the developer involved because we feel it's possible that this occured because of latent defects, which are covered in FL for 10 years. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the HOA per our docs, to fix whatever is wrong with the outside, so they can get on with putting the inside back as it was.

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

Where are your insurance agents??

Lets face it, this is why you buy insurance and the agents should have been the first people called. If there were defects, then let the insurance company go after the developer.

I would recommend your owner call his insurance company 6 weeks ago. And then expect them to take care of it. If his/her insurance company believes that others should pay up, then they should go after that money.

As for the rent receipt, you might mention that unless there is a real funds transfer to back it up it is a bad idea to present it to the insurance company. That could be called insurance fraud. Also, mold doesn't happen overnight. Someone is trying to take a ride in hard economic times.

Margo (Florida)
Posts: 5

Posted:

Their insurance company has already been in an assessed the damage. They have received a check to redo the inside of their home, however I think they may have to go back to their company as the mold may be worse than when their company assesed the damage and paid them what they felt it would take to put their house back the way it was.

In my previous response, I explained why the HOA insurance would not pay for the outside. Their was no damage to the outside! We have had a forensic engineering company in to determine what the problem is. If it turns out it was a latent defect, we're hoping the developer will step up. We simply don't have enough money to take a huge nationwide developer to court!

I'm not sure what to make of their request for rent reimbursement. If they were in a single family home and this happened, they would have to pay for it themselves. They told us their carrier reimbursed them for a few nights and suggested that they get the HOA to foot the bill for the rest. We are going on seven weeks and I see no reason the HOA should pay the bill. This is a very complicated issue and becomes moreso because of the "condo insurance" covering everything from the wallboard in on the inside and the HOA insurance covering everything on the outside up to the wallboard.

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

One explanation that comes to mind (though I am not accusing anyone) is that the problem arose because the window was not properly closed. I don't know how you would prove this did (or didn't) happen.

But here are a few more thoughts from my limited knowledge and experience:
You really should have let the owner deal with his own problem from the get go. If there is no damage to the exterior, then drop the issue until something more comes along. Now that something could be that when the damaged sheet rock is removed you can see where the water came from. Then you have something, and call your insurance back. And they pay for damages and they can go after someone for construction defects if they believe that happened. Otherwise the owner can seek them.

But the owner's insurance is not likely to pay more for mold. By delaying repair he has failed to mitigate further damage from the mold. I doubt they will be impressed by the concern over latent construction defects. In fact, the adjuster may figure someone is trying to cash in.

If my insurance paid to repair the thing I would have ordered the repairs and looked to get back to a normal life. Strange things happen in a storm and thank goodness they didn't declare an act of god or something along those lines. If there was evidence of water damage inside the walls, then I would have stopped long enough to get something done.

Now the cheapest mold remediation would be to go and purchase a how powered ozone generator to kill off the mold.

A further note is that many insurance companies now specifically exclude mold from their coverage.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Kirk. ,
Now in Florida, insurance companies have to include MOLD options with a rider. This is as normal a problem down there as fire and windstorm damage.

I do think that there should have been an inspection to see whether there was a structural fault and responsibility. Builder YES, HOA NO. The HOA had nothing to do with how it was built and because of the new age of the structure, there would not have been a maintenance issue for lack of care. You know Folks, sometimes things happen and no one is really at fault so you might have to bite the bullet and pay for a fix yourself. The old saying--stuff--- happens.

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