Our Clients Ask Us: Repair Reimbursement

Q: We have a unit in our Association that had water damage. The unit owner had the common area, as well as the damage to the individual unit, repaired at the owner’s expense. Now this owner is demanding reimbursement for the repairs. The Board was never even informed that there was a problem. Is this owner entitled to reimbursement for these expenses?

Answer: That Depends

Any area that is a unit owner responsibility will not be repaired at the Association’s expense unless otherwise provided in your governing documents. That being said, the common areas are association responsibility to repair. If an owner had damage to the unit due to a common area that needed repair, that owner should have informed the association of the damage so that the association could repair the areas properly. A unit owner cannot simply choose any contractor he/she wants to make repairs to the common areas without board knowledge/approval and automatically expect to be reimbursed. An association board is expected to exercise due diligence with regard to association management and repair. Unauthorized repairs usually end up costing the Association more money in the long run, especially if the contractor makes improper repairs, or the repairs made contribute to worsening the problem.

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