Making the Repairs: Who’s Responsible for Condo Damage?

If you live in a condominium, the last thing you want to wake up to is a leak in your ceiling from a cracked pipe in the walls, or worse, parts of a tree in your living room after a thunderstorm. And for property owners, keeping property in good shape on a regular basis is a source of financial and safety-related stress.

When it comes to repairing damage done to a condo, both associations and individual condo owners each have their own responsibilities, depending on the circumstances. Here’s what each should do in case of an accident.

Collective responsibilities

The condominium corporation or association (made up of all individual condo owners in the building) can help avoid damage to their building by placing certain preventative measures in place. That puts responsibility on their shoulders when it comes to maintaining anything which affects the entire building, under Section 90 of the Condominium Act of 1998. Repairs are expected from the association if property damage takes place that was not caused by an individual owner or tenant. Such examples include a tree falling onto the roof or floods occuring during a rainstorm.

Having insurance is another requirement for companies in case of damage. Section 99 of the Condominium Act focuses on this, declaring that organizations need insurance to cover damage to individual units and other parts of the area. In addition to damage resulting from hail, rainstorms, snowstorms and other natural disasters, this pertains to damage done by vehicle and airplane accidents, as well as riots, vandalism and other acts of violence.

Individual responsibilities

Handling repairs is in the hands of residents when it comes to damage specifically done by them. The Condominium Act puts responsibility on the shoulders of individual condo owners in these situations, with an example being a resident accidentally knocking something over and creating a dent in their wall.

Owners are also obligated to have insurance for any damage that can occur to their personal property. Whatever coverage they have, such as apartment building insurance in New Jersey, for example, it should include furnishings, fixtures, equipment, decorations, and any improvements and additions that they make to their unit. Whether or not the owner has insurance, they are obligated to pay for damage done to their personal property. As a result, insurance will only make the payment process easier.

Having good credit can also come in handy for making the repair process a piece of cake. Some landlords run a tenant credit check so that they know the person who wants to rent their property is not only able to pay rent, but also has enough money to cover damages. These checks also show whether a tenant has a good history of taking care of their home, which allows for landlords to trust them enough to keep their units in good condition.

Significance of communication

Some landlords have different rules regarding who’s responsible for certain damage. This stresses the significance for current and potential tenants to read the documents that pertain to their specific unit, as the association could be stricter than their previous one as far as costs and penalties for damage done by the unit owner.

But both the owner and association are required to have insurance, though it is the association’s job to ensure individuals are covered in order to prevent problems in the future. The better the understanding of rules is between tenants and landlords, the easier it will be for them to get through repairs. Landlords and tenants can keep this in mind, so they can take care of repairs easily and maintain a good relationship.

 

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