E.F. from Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Who is responsible for cracks in balcony roof (owner or board)?
Mister Condo replies:
E.F., without reviewing your governing documents it would be impossible for me to give you a definitive answer. The roof itself is likely owned by the association as a common element. However, if this is a high-rise and the roof of your balcony is the floor of the balcony above yours, it is possible that your balcony roof is a limited common element, with maintenance assigned to you and the neighbor above you. There is also the question of how wide-spread the problem is. If we are talking about failing concrete. It could be a sign of a larger problem. Since the tragic collapse of the building in Surfside, Florida, all Florida mid- and high-rise communities are under great scrutiny. Report the issue to the Board. See what they have to say about it. If it is a limited event to just your unit and it is a simple repair, I would say fix it. If it is a wide-spread event, the Board will need to take serious consideration, perhaps even undergo an engineering study. We must never take simple cracks in cement lightly. They often foretell serious defects in the building that cannot be ignored. All the best!