In a Home Owners Association, what all is the HOA responsible for?
Full Question:
I own a townhome in a "planned community." I pay monthly dues to the Home Owners' Association. A board member stated that "the owners of the townhomes own the inside studs and walls. The HOA owns the outside studs and walls and the roofs." Are there laws mandating that the HOA maintain the buildings? If rainwater from the roof is causing land to wash away from under the foundation, who is responsible for fixing this problem? If carpenter ants and/or termites can be found crawling all over the outside of the building, is the HOA responsible for extermination before the outside walls and roofs collapse? Where can I find laws regulating HOA responsibilities in multiple housing communities?
05/30/2007 |
Category: Real Property ยป Homeowner's ... |
State: Texas |
#6047
Answer:
The following is a TX statute:
§ 82.107. UPKEEP OF CONDOMINIUM. (a) Except as provided
by the declaration or Subsections (b) and (c), the association is
responsible for maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common
elements, and each unit owner is responsible for maintenance,
repair, and replacement of the owner's unit. Each unit owner shall
afford to the association and the other unit owners, and to their
agents or employees, access through the owner's unit reasonably
necessary for those purposes. If damage is inflicted on the common
elements or on any unit through which access is taken, the unit
owner responsible for the damage, or the association if it is
responsible, is liable for the prompt repair of the damage.
(b) Except as provided by the declaration, each unit owner
is responsible for the cost of maintenance, repair, and replacement
of any utility installation or equipment serving only the owner's
unit, without regard to whether the installation or equipment is
located wholly or partially outside the designated boundaries of
the unit. For purposes of this subsection, utility installations
and equipment include electricity, water, sewage, gas, water
heaters, heating and air conditioning equipment, and television
antennas.
(c) Except as provided by the declaration, each unit owner
is responsible for the cost of maintenance, repair, and replacement
of windows and doors serving only the owner's unit.
(d) Unless otherwise provided by the declaration, the
association may enter a unit, after giving notice to the owner and
occupant of the unit, to:
(1) prevent or terminate waste of water purchased by
the association as a common expense; or
(2) perform maintenance and repairs of the condominium
that, if not performed, may result in increased damage by water to
components of the condominium that the association maintains.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 244, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994.
