Association vs. Home Owner...who's responsible??

[RHI322]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New Jersey
I just moved into a townhouse where I pay minimal association fees that pay for common areas only. I am responsible for my own roof, siding, lawn etc., however any area that is common ground is to be taken care of by the association. Hurricane Irene struck the east coast this weekend & the first floor of my home was damaged. Off of my living room is a deck & behind that deck is a common wooded area. My whole strip of townhomes is located at the bottom of a hill. When the storm hit, in a matter of 5 minutes, rain & dirt literally streamed down the hill, through my back gate & deck & into my living room. Within the hour, it hit my front door. Now after the storm was over, I spoke to my other neighbors on the bottom of the hill to find they had the same thing happen to their properties. I looked in the back & there doesn't seem to be a proper drainage system in place. Being at the bottom of the hill, I would think there needs to be some trenches or pipes that lead the water away & there is nothing. Who is responsible for fixing this? I have my insurance company coming to assess the damages, but my bigger concern is preventing this from happening again. Shouldn't THEY be responsible for putting in some kind of drainage system since the source of the water came from the "common area"?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[NC Aggie]

I believe your problem sounds more like an issue that should have been addressed during original development and construction than an issue that your association should be responsible for rectifying now. Even if the runoff that is impacting your condo is originating from "common area", this would be considered the natural drainage pattern or established drainage pattern so it would be up to the property owner impacted to rectify their drainage problem. I think a reasonable fix may be to get together with your neighbors who are also impacted, determine a fix and share the costs.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
New Jersey
I just moved into a townhouse where I pay minimal association fees that pay for common areas only. I am responsible for my own roof, siding, lawn etc., however any area that is common ground is to be taken care of by the association. Hurricane Irene struck the east coast this weekend & the first floor of my home was damaged. Off of my living room is a deck & behind that deck is a common wooded area. My whole strip of townhomes is located at the bottom of a hill. When the storm hit, in a matter of 5 minutes, rain & dirt literally streamed down the hill, through my back gate & deck & into my living room. Within the hour, it hit my front door. Now after the storm was over, I spoke to my other neighbors on the bottom of the hill to find they had the same thing happen to their properties. I looked in the back & there doesn't seem to be a proper drainage system in place. Being at the bottom of the hill, I would think there needs to be some trenches or pipes that lead the water away & there is nothing. Who is responsible for fixing this? I have my insurance company coming to assess the damages, but my bigger concern is preventing this from happening again. Shouldn't THEY be responsible for putting in some kind of drainage system since the source of the water came from the "common area"?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: the responsibility may be shared with both entities but it is hard to say without reviewing all docs.