From The Law Offices of Swedelson Gottlieb Blog- HOW ONE ASSOCIATION'S $30,000 MOLD WATER DAMAGE CLAIM TURNED INTO A $169,000 ARBITRATION AWARD (and why condominium associations should be responsible for waterproofing on balcony decks)

Decks with coatings on them are roofs first IMO, and HOA's SHOULD NEVER make the decks the responsibility of the owners. There's so many reasons I could write a book about it...but that's for later on. One note, David should say that a deck waterproofing contractor, FOR A FEE, can make inspections of the Associations decks. 

Read David Swedelson's article on what happens when Associations make decks the owners responsibility.  

HOW ONE ASSOCIATION’S $30,000 MOLD WATER DAMAGE CLAIM TURNED INTO A $169,000 ARBITRATION AWARD (and why condominium associations should be responsible for waterproofing on balcony decks)

By David Swedelson, Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney; Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

I know that many condominium association boards of directors contemplate the idea of making owners responsible for the waterproofing on the balconies or decks in condominiums (and yes, generally the association is responsible for repairing or replacing what is considered common area waterproofing). Bad idea. The reality is that owners will not do what is required to ensure that the waterproofing is properly maintained and the resulting leaks will allow water to damage the common area and other units. One association client learned this the hard way.

It all started with that association amending and restating its Governing Documents. As a part of that process, their former attorney suggested that they make the homeowners responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the waterproofing on each homeowner’s exclusive use balcony decks. Many associations tell me they would like to see the homeowners responsible for the waterproofing, as they claim that the association does not want to have to save or expend the money for that work. However, in practice this is not a good idea.

The fact is that homeowners are not really that good at maintenance. Many owners move into condominiums so that they can avoid having to do that kind of work. Most waterproofing systems require some form of recoating every three (3) to five (5) years. Homeowners do not understand waterproofing systems, and neither do most boards at condo associations. At the association that was involved in the lawsuit that is the subject of this article, a prior owner of a unit had ongoing leaking issues with his large balcony deck. To resolve the leaks, he made substantial modifications to the waterproofing system. He then sold the unit. His modifications had not resolved the leak issues.

READ THE REST HERE and find out what happened... http://www.hoalawblog.com/2013/03/how_one_associations_30000_mol_1.html#more

What do you think? Should HOA's turn the responsibility of deck maintenance over to the owners? Why or why not? Leave us your comments and opinions. 

Bill Leys-The Deck Expert

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