Live in a home governed by a condominium, co-op or homeowner’s association? Have questions about what they can and cannot do? Ryan Poliakoff , an attorney and author based in Boca Raton, has answers.
Question: Our condominium unit caught fire earlier this year. It was electrical, with extensive smoke damage. We hired a contractor to do the restoration, and the contractor presented the HOA with an invoice to do the electrical, plumbing, and drywall, which is their responsibility.
Since the association has cruddy insurance, they didn’t want to pay the contractor what he estimated. He already gutted our condo, and we paid our part out of our insurance money, but the association won’t pay him for their portion of the work. So, our condo just sits there half finished. What do we do now to make the association hire their own contractor to do the work so we can get our part of the restoration done and move back in? Signed, D.W.
Dear D.W. ,
You are correct that pursuant to Section 718.111(11), Fla. Stat., in the event of a casualty, such as a fire, the association is responsible to insure, as well as to repair and replace, the condominium property as originally installed, minus certain delineated items such as flooring and wall coverings. The problem is that it is expressly the association’s responsibility to make these repairs, and not yours.