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Balcony Leak

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dz1063

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

Hi Everyone

Here's the story. I live on the second floor of a two-story condo complex. My condo has a concrete balcony that hangs over the patio of the person below me. About two months ago I get a visit from the HOA's insurance adjuster saying that the resident below has complained that when it rains water "comes down his wall from above - close to his sliding door" (not sure if he means inside or outside). The adjuster finds that the leak is coming (or could come) from the base of my patio balcony.

I had assumed that the HOA would cover the repairs, but this week I got a letter from the HOA stating it is my responsibility to fix the balcony since it is part of my premises. The letter also stated that the owner contacted me about the problem, which never happened.

In our by-laws, an individual's unit encompasses "the exterior surfaces of balconies and patios," and that "the owner shall maintain and keep in repair the interior and patio and/or balcony space of his own unit." And furthermore, in the Restriction of Ownership paragraph, balconies are not even mentioned as being the owner's responsibility to maintain.

I was just wondering...is this solely my responsibility to fix? I really don't know what the actual leak is or if it is actually coming from my balcony since I have never seen the leak. I have an estimate that talks of filling in a crack in my balcony as well as re-applying a concrete coating.

If I do have to fix it, should I ask the person below to show me the leak first before I fix anything? I just really don't want to repair anything unless I know it is really causing a problem.

Thanks for the help!
 


The concrete is the exterior surface of the patio (non structural), and is your responsibility to maintain.

You say there is a crack in your patio. Regardless of any leak, you still need to get the crack fixed, just out of precautionary concern (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure). Imagine if the crack led to breakage. So leaking is really irrelevant as the crack is enough of a problem!

So with that said, fix the patio.

Good Luck and keep us updated.
 

dz1063

Junior Member
Thanks for the quick response. That is what I figured you guys would say...its just the HOA was so involved with this (sending letters, adjuster and repairmen out) that I started thinking that they were the ones to fix it, not me. Again, thanks a lot.
 

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