J.R. from Fairfield County writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Where do I file a complaint against a condo association?
Mister Condo replies:
J.R., since you didn’t mention the nature of your complaint against your condo association, I am not real clear on how to advise you. Your first step might be to write to your Board of Directors with the specifics of your complaint. If the Board provides you with a satisfactory explanation, your complaint may be acknowledged and settled. If you are not happy with that outcome you may wish to speak with an attorney or file a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) who is the state entity charged with handling certain complaints that are filed against condo associations or Property Management companies. Keep in mind that there are only a few things that the DCP can do, especially based on the nature of the complaint. When all else fails, you are free to bring a suit against the association. This is a radical solution but is sometimes necessary when unit owners feel wronged by their association. Depending on the nature and validity of your complaint, you may find it necessary to bring a suit against your Board. Have you spoken to an attorney? That may be your best advice, especially if you have not been able to resolve your issue through negotiating with your association. I hope it works out for you, J.R..
Complaint Against the Condo Association: http://t.co/lEGGbNggpK
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I want to pay (1,623.00) dollars on a credit card, just to make a one-time payment for a special assessment and I am willing to pay a $30.00 convenience fee. But I was told that our condo association is not set up to do this, by our management company. They are a LLC corp and, by law, take credit cards. I always pay by check for monthly condo fees and when we had a special assessment last year on our roofs, many folks paid one time on a credit card. Please let me know.
J.P., I am not aware of any law that REQUIRES a management company to accept credit cards on behalf of the association for common fees, special assessments, etc.. That being said, perhaps your credit card company will allow you to borrow against the card for the amount you were going to charge? That way you would still be able to use your credit card for the assessment. If you are certain that the credit card must be accepted “by law” and the management company refuses to allow you to pay that way, you may wish to consult with a local attorney who could better advise you of your rights. Good luck!
The property mgmt is not fixing things around my condo. I have a front porch with a roof over it. The roof leaks and the water soaks my front porch. I also have a piece of aluminum siding off my condo. There are water spots on the inside my condo on the ceiling. Please help.
M.K., the property management company answers to the Board. If you are not happy with the service provided by the property management company and they are not responsive to your maintenance requests, you need to get in touch with your Board and ask them why they are allowing the Property Management company to be so lax in their duties. It is important to remember that the management company works for the Board, not the homeowners. Direct your complaint to the Board and ask them to apply pressure to the management company to handle the repair. Good luck!
My son has a similar complaint at his condo. the board has replaced the roofs on all the buildings. My son’s unit has a leak and its creating mold. He has complained to the management company. They arrived at his house with a worker. (The worker also happens to be a board member. The last time there was a problem with a plumbing leak, the worker/board member turned the water off to my son’s unit for 3 days. The department of health was not pleased. The worker/board member challenged my son to a fight. the police were involved and nothing was resolved. ) As the worker/board member works for the management company, and the management company works for the board, is this even legal?
EB
EB, sorry for your son’s problems. It is unusual for a Board member to be employed by a management company. It is certainly unethical but likely not illegal. Calling the police was a proper choice seeing as the encounter escalated to near violence. My advice would be to vote the Board member out of office is possible. If not, this unfortunate condition is likely to continue. Good luck!
Hi, the unit next door had leakage from the roof. As a result, the condo association felt the roof needed to be replaced; however, in the process of doing so… (I am not sure what the contractors did) … I ended up with a damaged roof. When you had rain recently, it just poured in my condo. The contractors admitted to their major mess up, however, their way to repair my ceiling is simply to paint over the rain marks once is completely dry (mind you the ceiling is pretty bad). My main concern is molding ect. By the other damages have occurred, and they were always downplayed. Meanwhile I contacted my insurance. This occurred about 2 weeks ago. As of now, HOA president does not respond to my adjuster’s inquiries or requests for inspection. I do not have the contact info for the management company. I am not too sure what to do….
S., when HOAs behave badly, your typical recourse is to sue the association. I know that sounds extreme and it can be expensive but what other choice do you have? The contractor worked for the HOA when they damaged your unit. They made the repair to the satisfaction of the HOA (not you). Now you have to either repair your own HOA contractor-caused damage out of your own pocket or pursue the HOA for a remedy. The HOA isn’t responding to you or your adjuster. They will respond to a lawsuit. If the cost of repair is less than the cost of the lawsuit, it might more economic sense to just pay for the repair on your own. Next election cycle, you might consider running for the Board. If nothing else, this experience has shown you that the current Board really doesn’t care about you as a homeowner. There is no need to return them to office when their terms are up. All the best!
I also contacted the HOA many, many, many times not successfully…