Condo Talk

Who Owns My Balcony and Deck?

By Kay Senay

February 2010

“Kay, the balconies and decks in our building are only accessible through our individual units. Our board says we are going to be assessed for repairs to the damaged balconies. Some of us don’t have any damage. Shouldn’t the owners of the damaged balconies be the only ones assessed?” — J.M., Florida

Dear J.M.: Associations have common areas and limited common areas. A common area might be something like a park, a pool, or a street. A limited common area might be a part of the lawn that’s fenced off for the use of a particular unit owner. This issue is important for maintenance, repair and replacement responsibility. The financial ramifications of these differences can be enormous!

One reason for confusion is because people have a certain impression of their rights when they own a single-family dwelling and don’t realize that many rights are altered when they become part of a multi-family condominium complex. Single-family dwellings have property lines between lots and it would be outrageous to think that one homeowner must repair his neighbor’s deck! Condominium units have boundaries that determine what is owned and maintained as the common property and what is owned by a specific individual owner.

The association must determine whether maintenance, repairs, and replacements of all the elements on the property are the owners’ or the association’s responsibility. The declaration dictates these financial responsibilities. Some declarations state that an owner is responsible for the maintenance and repair of an item, but that the association is responsible for its replacement! There are at least three sections in the declaration to consider:

1. The first is a section that describes and states the ownership of the common areas.
2. Another section states that each owner has exclusive and irrevocable license to use and occupy the limited common areas and facilities and states what those areas are.
3. Another section defines the differences between the association’s and the unit owners’ responsibilities for providing maintenance, repairs, and replacements of common and limited common areas. This section must not be confused with ownership and use.

The answer to your question about the balconies in your building is to determine the responsibility for their ownership, maintenance and replacement. In order to do that, you may even need the advice (or interpretation!) of the declaration by an attorney. Because there can be so many different versions of responsibility in condominium living, you need to be very clear that you understand your association’s governing documents. If it is determined that balconies are association responsibility to repair, then all owners can be assessed according to their percentages of ownership. Needless to say, condominium ownership is a unique form of divided responsibility!

Kay Senay is the author of “Condo Buying and Ownership Made Simple: Tips to Save Time and Money.” Visit her website at www.condo-condominium.com for free tip sheets. Her book can be purchased from Amazon.

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