Association's Maintenance Duties

ASSOCIATION'S
MAINTENANCE DUTIES

Questions regarding maintenance duties are quite common. Operating through their boards of directors, associations have the following duties:

1. Duty to Inspect Common Areas. Associations must visually inspect the common areas every three years and prepare a reserve study listing all major components, the remaining useful life of those components and the cost to repair or replace them. Civil Code §1365.5(e) When it comes to reserve studies, this does not mean that board members must personally inspect the common areas, they may have a qualified agent perform the inspection on their behalf.

2. Duty to Investigate Complaints. Whenever boards learn of common area problems, such as cracked sidewalks, roof leaks, plumbing backups, etc., they must investigate the problems. Corp. Code §7231(a) They don't need to personally inspect them, they can rely on managing agents, plumbers, etc. to investigate and report back to the board. If an owner reports a flood inside his/her unit, the board must determine if the leak is originating from (i) the owner's own plumbing, which is the owner's responsibility to repair, or (ii) the common area, which is the association's responsibility to repair. Civil Code §1364(a) Exclusive use common areas will depend on the association's governing documents.

3. Duty to Repair. Regardless of fault, repairs must be made to the common areas. If the leak is an owner's responsibility and he/she refuses to repair the leak (such as a shower pan leak), the board has three options: (i) initiate daily fines until the owner repairs the leak, (ii) repair the leak (if the board can get access) and bill the owner for reimbursement, or (iii) go into court for an order that the owner either repair the leak or step aside and allow the association to repair it. The severity of the leak will determine the steps taken. When and how the damage is repaired may depend on whether the matter is turned over to insurance.

Updated by ADAMS KESSLER 7/30/2008