D.K. from Palm Beach County, Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We have 25 Buildings with 4 units in each. 2 Upstairs & 2 Downstairs. We are A Condo Association. Our document says the following: “All conduits, ducts, plumbing, air conditioning, wiring and other facilities for the furnishing of utility services which are contained in the portions of a unit contributing to the support of the building or within interior boundary walls, and all such facilities contained within a unit which service part or parts of the Condominium other than the unit within which contained.” Years ago I paid a substantial amount to our A/C servicing company because the line that went from the unit outside, then under the slab ruptured and they had to draw a new one so the cooling agent (Puron which replaced Freon) could be replaced. Am I entitled to reimbursement for that?
Mister Condo replies:
D.K., probably not I am afraid. If the repair to the line was for all four units in your building, you might have a claim but if the repair was solely for your benefit, it is likely your expense. The wording in your governing documents is a bit tricky to interpret, which is fairly common in condo docs, but unless the repair was for the benefit of multiple units, not just your own, it would be common to assign the repair cost to the unit owner. I am not an attorney and offer no legal opinion. You might wish to speak to an attorney for a more definitive answer. Good luck!