Leaking roof - an emergency?

Hi all. In California. Small HOA with 12 condos.

Owner just began escrow (also a board member) tells us tonight that they were so busy that they forgot to tell us about the leaking roof which can cause puddles on the floor of both adjoining units. They've known about it for several months. It just began to rain for the first time this season. .so they tarped it. Buyers' Inspectors are coming through their unit this week, and they want it repaired on an emergency basis - without our normal process of acquiring multiple bids.

It's already midnight Sat night here. . .

1. Are we required to get multiple bids or is this considered an emergency? (There is no water coming down inside the wall at the current time.)

2. If no multiple bids are required (and we can treat it as an emergency) is the HOA liable for paying for an emergency repair tomorrow (Sunday)? It's the owners' fault that we're in this situation. . .and our finances are NOT good due to foreclosures and owners who haven't paid their dues on a very long time.

On the other hand we do NOT want to be liable for replacing warped baseboards or hardwood floor.

Thanks for any insights you might have.

Dawn in CA

If there is a leak already and it's raining now, then I would say this is an emergency situation. In an emergency, I would think the last of your worries would be to follow the bidding process! Use common sense and take immediate action to prevent damage that could be caused by the leak!!! Since the board is now aware of the potential problem, the onus is on them.

A am with Dwight on this. If a resident calls with a leaking roof there is an emergency. That is when you do what is needed to stop further damage from occurring. Considering that the current season I don't see a reason why you shouldn't be able to obtain two or three bids in the next couple of days. Then you should hold an "emergency" meeting to discuss the bids and start the project of fixing this.

Be sure that you record that they knew about this for several months. You are not responsible for any interior damage that occurred prior to notification. Further, you should get the inside roof structure inspected. The lack of notification could have caused additional damage and the owners would be responsible.

I will relate something told to me by an insurance adjuster once. He said he had seen many cases where a person had their window broken on their car. And this was a covered event. Then it would rain before they could get the window replaced and they would come to file a claim for damage to the interior after it rained. Guess what?? Because they failed to mitigate damages the insurance company denied the second claim. Further the owner would have to have the repair inspected to ever have the interior covered again. Now if they had taped plastic to the window but the plastic didn't hold up the interior damage would be covered.

Basically you have a responsibility to mitigate a situation as possible. This would include a resident being responsible to notify the HOA of a leak as soon as it is noticed.

The fact that the h/o did not inform the board of the leak immediately does not let the assn off the hook for the repair. I don't agree with Dwight's suggestion that the h/o pay for the repair and the board should only reimburse him what they feel they would have paid under "normal" circumstances. If they are going to allow him to make the repair then they should reimburse him the actual cost.