What the HOA maintains in a condo or townhouse, and what is yours

In a condo or a townhouse community, upkeep is split between you and the association, and the split is different in every community. It's set by the governing documents, chiefly the covenants, conditions and restrictions, known as the CC&Rs.

Common areas, limited common elements and your unit

Common areas, such as the sidewalks, the roads, the elevator and the streetlights, belong to everyone in the community. A limited common element is part of the common property that serves only one unit or a few, such as a balcony, a parking space, a roof and sometimes even a unit's windows and doors. The declaration and the association's maintenance chart say who maintains, repairs and replaces each one, and declarations differ widely, down to who replaces the windows and doors.

Where to find the split

Many communities have a maintenance matrix, a chart listing the common areas, the separate areas owned by each owner and the exclusive-use common areas, and who maintains each. It's usually in the CC&Rs or the association plan. The condominium plan defines where each unit's boundaries end and the common areas begin, which often decides who maintains what. An owner maintenance manual sets out the upkeep the documents give each owner. It's usually prepared by the developer and given to the first buyer, and later owners often never receive a copy, so ask the association for one.

The gray areas

Some lines are hard to draw. Where an owner's unit runs from the studs in, it can be unclear who maintains the plumbing or wiring beyond the studs. One part can also affect another. Where the documents split a window from the wall around it, a poorly kept window can let water into the wall.

An annotated example

What to do next

Find the maintenance matrix in the CC&Rs, and ask the association for the owner maintenance manual if you don't have one. Write down each item the documents assign to you, and add it to your own maintenance schedule. Where the documents don't say who handles something, such as the pipes behind a wall, ask the association before a problem comes up.