M.K. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We are replacing siding, roofs and doing repairs to buildings with structural problems in our condo. In our association, we have condos that face a busy street and others that face a forested area. We all have walls on our deck that will be removed. We were originally told that we would have frosted glass used to replace the walls. We have now been told we will have only metal railing. Those of facing the street are going to lose most of their privacy.
It was suggested we install the metal railings on the units facing the forested area and frosted glass on the units facing the busy street. All the buildings facing the street would be uniform in appearance and all the units facing the forested area would be uniform in appearance. We are now told that cannot be done because all buildings in the association have to match each other.
We have the funds to use the frosted glass but the board thinks we should install a security gate instead. There has never been a security gate here. I’m all for a security gate, but do not want to lose my privacy.
Do all buildings in a condo association have to match exactly?
Mister Condo replies:
M.K., the term architectural compliance is the standard that most associations use to determine what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to any modifications within the association. Most association simply rebuild whatever they had when the time comes for replacement. Your association is contemplating a change and with that change comes more questions than answers as you are seeing first-hand. I doubt that there is anything in your condo governing documents that states “all buildings have to match each other”. However, that doesn’t mean that they should be altered too much from how they were originally built either. In fact, making some changes will require a consenting vote from wither a majority or supermajority of unit owners depending on how your governing documents allow. There is also the question of common, limited common, or unit owner responsibility for the new railings and frosted glass. My guess is that all will be common elements owned and maintained by the association. When the Board struggles with issues like this, it is my experience that a legal opinion can be quite invaluable so no costly mistakes are made. The community association attorney can advise you of the right way to go about making these changes so that no single unit owner can come back and challenge the decisions made. This is going to be an expensive project so why not dot your I’s and cross you T’s? My guess is you will get the finished product the association members are expecting and desiring. Good luck!
There are several things that come to mind here. First, it sounds like the frosted glass might cost more, and the metal railings would be used as a less expensive alternative. Second, it may be possible for the association to have glass along the street and metal railings along the forest, but that may require an attorney’s opinion on whether those modifications can be made in that manner. Another concern might be what happens if the glass is broken – would someone below be injured, and the association incur liability as a result? Would another material that is break-resistant be an alternative?
My guess is that the Board is either trying to deal with limited funds, or not wanting to assess as highly to cover the costs, and the frosted glass is one of the items that is chosen for cost savings.