HOA Complaints: Who Pays for Patching and Repainting?

Q: I love your column and read it weekly. I live in a mid-sized condo building in Chicago. Last year the common roof above my unit leaked and caused ceiling damage to my unit in several large areas, which required drywall repair, patching and repainting.

When I asked the homeowner’s association (HOA) and our management company about the repairs, they said they would repair and patch the drywall but it was not their obligation to repaint the unit. Any re-painting of the ceiling is/was the unit owner’s responsibility. There is no specific language about this in our bylaws. When I pushed for a full repair including the re-painting I was told they would not do the repainting. The explanation I was given was “that’s the way it’s always been” by the HOA board president.

Is this Homeowners Association (HOA) Good or Bad?

I maintain that when damage is caused solely by a building’s common elements, the HOA should be responsible for the damage. Why should I have to repaint the ceiling when the damage was caused by a building’s roof. I know it’s a “grey area.” Do you have any opinion on this? I had to pay $5,000 out of my own pocket to repair the ceiling.

A: We’re sorry you’ve had roof leak issues in your unit. But as it happens, we mostly agree with your condo association on this issue.

Generally, condo associations are responsible for maintaining the common elements in a building. Unit owners take care of their units and common elements that serve their unit exclusively.

For example, if you have a drain problem in your unit and the drain issue is something exclusive to your unit, you would hire a plumber to fix the issue. If it turned out that the drain issue was somehow due to a problem in a part of the drainage system that was outside the walls of your unit, the building would hire a professional to identify and fix the problem.

Is This Homeowner Association (HOA) Compliant with State Law

Here’s the shorthand version: It’s fair to say that condo owners are responsible for everything within their unit from the paint in. You can imagine some owners installing very expensive wall paper in their unit that gets damaged one way or another from a roof, window or wall leak. But it would be the owner’s responsibility to repair the wallpaper, because it’s on the inside of their unit.

A condo association generally has insurance for the common elements in the building and unit owners carry insurance that covers the interior of their units. Let’s say, for example, that your whole building burned down. The association’s insurance would be responsible for rebuilding the structure but not finishing the interior of the units. Each homeowner needs to have insurance to replace the interior of their units, including interior walls, flooring, ceiling, wall coverings, painting the interior walls, and replacing cabinetry, plumbing and electrical fixtures. Basically everything that goes inside a unit from the walls inward must be restored by the unit owner.

Each unit owner also needs to have insurance that covers their contents and personal possessions. What if the roof leak had damaged your furniture, electronics and other personal items? The association’s policy won’t cover those losses. So, the responsibility falls on the unit owner to have insurance that does.

Is Homeowners Insurance Required?

You may have elected to buy a high-deductible insurance policy. If so, you’ll be responsible for the deductible. You should also make sure your coverage includes your rent, if you have to move out while you rebuild your home after a catastrophe, like a fire or flood. Otherwise, you’ll be out of pocket for those costs as well.

Some associations may have other arrangements. For example, in many cooperative apartments (known as co-ops), the building may be responsible for picking up more of these costs than some condo buildings.

To know for sure, speak with a real estate attorney in your area who specializes in condo or association law. That attorney should have a better understanding about how your state treats these sorts of issues and may know of legal cases that may have placed the burden to fix on the association.