C.C. from Brevard County, Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
At the condo I live in, all owners are responsible for their carport’s upkeep and repair. It’s time for a lot of us to get new roofs on the carports the board of directors wants all the roofs done at the same time, so our property manager said we should all be assessed for the roofs the same amount of money even though some carports are larger and some are small. That is not right as far as I’m concerned. We should pay the amount our own carport will cost each of us to put a new roof on. They can assess each of us the cost for our carport roof size. Wouldn’t this be a fair solution?
Mister Condo replies:
C.C., I appreciate your argument but fairness really doesn’t factor into it. The percentage of unit ownership is the only guide to be used for such an assessment. Upkeep and repair requirements aside, I assume the carports are common elements of the association. As such, the association is bound to maintain the common element. Ideally, the roof replacement should have be paid for out of the association’s Reserve Fund. Apparently, the roofs were not budgeted for and now require a Special Assessment to pay the cost. Your documents detail the method for levying a Special Assessment. Typically, the total amount of the assessment is divvied up using the same formula used to determine common fees. That formula may not take the size of the carports into account but it does consider the percentage of unit ownership. Fair or not, that is what all unit owners agreed to when they purchased into the association. Good luck!