Who’s Fixing That? A Common HOA Question, Answered!

April 22, 2013 by Courtney Schwartzel/Common and Exclusive Areas, Rights and Responsibilities/Tags: CC & R's

Who is responsible for what in my HOA?

What is an “exclusive” area?

It’s an important question often asked by homeowners, and the answer is more complicated than you may think.

Generally, the association is responsible for repairing common, or shared, elements. The homeowners are responsible for maintaining their own homes.

But, there are two problems. Here is where it gets confusing:

1) Some areas are neither common nor part of your home. These are called exclusive or limited-use common areas and they are available only to one or few residents.

2) Ownership and responsibility for repair and/or replacement are not always the same thing.

So, how do we determine who is responsible in these scenarios?

Always refer to your Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (commonly referred to as CC&R’s). These should include a list of the HOA owned assets. Typically HOA owned assets are the responsibility of the association.

If your CC&R is silent on the issue, speak up! Request the information from your community manager. He/she has dealt with this question in the past and will be able to provide you with a clear answer?

Our best advice:

Don’t assume anything. If there is an issue with what appears to be a common element, then ask!