Mandatory Chimney Inspections/Cleaning?

Can a Board compell a homeowner to annually inspect and clean chimneys professionally at their own expense? If owners refuse, what can the Board do to punish them?

I have a fireplace but have not used it for over 10 years. It was cleaned at that time. There is currently no soot, no debris, no vermin in the chimney. I have no plans to use it again. Why should I pay to inspect/clean annually?

Our Board just informed homeowners that they MUST annually inspect and clean their chimneys or provide a certificate of inspection. We have to arrange a time with and pay a preferred named vendor and pay $96.23 for this or provide a certificate of inspection by May 15, just one month from now.

The Board decided to do this as a safety measure but gave no further justification. There never has been problems with fireplaces or chimneys. There has never been any discussion of this in any homeowner meeting.

The CCRs make no mention of interior fireplace chimney maintenance but state the HOA is responsible for roof maintenance.

I attach a link to an excellent article by Richard Thompson, a management consultant on HOA issues:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20081112_fireplace.htm

This article recommends the HOA inspect/repair the chimneys externally at HOA cost, then if there are problems, the owner must repair at their own cost.

Yes, houses join but the firewalls are excellent, even soundproof. Our builder really knew concrete and built to the highest specs. We also have to show proof of individual interior homeowner insurance annually.

This reeks of the word kickback. But the question is do you want to spend the money to fight it?

But to be honest, the whole thing seems strange to me. Normally this kind of thing would be done in the late summer, early fall not in spring. And the deadline really reeks of something not right.

My association has 62 units and the inspection (and cleaning, if deemed necessary by the cleaning co) is required on a bi-annual basis. Some have replaced their fireplaces with pellet stove inserts, some don't use the fireplace, but many use them all the time. The cost of the inspection is on the unitowner.