Townhouse Roof Repair Responsibility

Typically the governing docs provide that the owner is responsible for all the structural components including the roof.

Townhouse roof repair responsibility.

A lot just say the association shall maintain exterior surfaces that unhelpful wording has led to some push and pull between hoas and owners. If the roof s wear and tear is simply the result of its advanced age it s time to start planning to replace it. But for attached townhome units where the association has some responsibility for maintenance repair and or replacement of the walls and or building exteriors the answer as to who is responsible for the interior damage can be more complicated. You don t want to neglect your roof to the point where it begins to cause water damage in your home or worse in your neighbor s.

Similarly if the governing documents state that the association is responsible for roof repair and maintenance but requires the homeowners to repair maintain and replace the gutters the association should not replace the gutters without amending the governing documents since the responsibility for gutters is the owners not the. Occasionally a property owner is able to argue that a tenant caused the damage to the roof. The problem is the owner s roof joins other roofs. In fact hoas are required by law to take out insurance for common areas to protect against unforeseen damage and to cover major repairs such as roof replacement and unexpected plumbing damage.

Maintaining a townhouse roof requires even more awareness for that reason you don t want to end up paying for repairs to your neighbor s home too. For example perhaps the tenant stood on the roof to jump into the pool and damaged the shingles while he or she was up there. If a townhouse is a rental property owned by a landlord who collects rent from a tenant the landlord is typically responsible for the roof repairs. But the governing documents are very vague about what exterior maintenance is.