S.V. from Fairfield County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
A leak occurred in the basement, which is common; we found out it was a unit owner and we had a contractor come out to investigate. We have passed along the bill from the contractor for coming out and investigating the area and identifying it was from his unit. Is this okay to do? It is how we have always done it, but one board member was concerned that this could be an issue.
Mister Condo replies:
S.V., most governing documents allow for assignment of repair expense to the responsible unit owner. It makes sense that assigning the cost of inspection for the damage would follow the same guidelines. That is likely why you have always done it that way. I suppose if a homeowner pushed back and force the issue to court you might get an official ruling from a judge but my guess is that the association would prevail if it came to that. Keep doing what you’ve been doing and I think you’ll be just fine. All the best!