Condo Garage Door Assessment for Unit Owner with No Garage!

D.F. from outside of Connecticut writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

I live in a condo with 11 units. Only 10 of the units have garages. I am the owner of the unit that doesn’t have a garage. A special assessment has been voted to replace garage doors. Do I have to pay the assessment? The 10 units are deeded.

Mister Condo replies:

D.F., unless your condo documents state otherwise, common elements are the property of the condominium association and there repair and maintenance falls upon all members of the association. Regardless of the nature of the item, the repairs and maintenance are paid for from monies collected in common, using the percentage of unit ownership formula, which is the same formula used to determine the percentage of common fees each unit pays. Just because your unit does not have a garage does not exempt you from paying your fair share of the upkeep of the rest of the units’ garage doors. If, by chance, your documents are worded in such a way that the individual units own their own garage doors, you may not have to pay but that is unlikely. Take a look at your association’s governing documents and see what it says about garage doors. If the documents do not specifically state that garage doors are individual unit owner responsibility, it is very likely that they are common elements. All the best!