K.K. from Hartford County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I have a question regarding the Garage Door Weather Seal Repair/Replacement – Who is responsible – HOA or home owner? As I read the condo documents, I understand Garage Door as “Limited Common Element” and the Unit Owner is responsible for the maintenance. HOA is responsible if it is caused of a casualty or loss covered by the Association’s insurance policy or out of the negligence of the Association or its contractors or subcontractors. My question is regarding the Garage Seal which can be any of the following.
1) Garage Door Bottom Seal – The garage door bottom seal (or door sweep) is a long strip of rubber or vinyl that attaches to the bottom edge of the garage door.
2) Garage Door Threshold Seal – A threshold seal serves a similar function to the bottom seal on a garage door, but it is attached to the garage floor rather than the door.
3) Garage Door Stop Weatherstripping – garage doors usually have rubber or vinyl weatherstripping installed onto the wood door stop molding that is attached to the door jamb and nearly touches the front face of the door.
4) Vinyl Door Stop With Integrated Weatherstrip – This specialty stop molding typically is made of vinyl and has a wood-look molding strip and a flexible weather-seal flange all in one piece.
5) Garage Door Panel Weatherstripping – V-shaped garage door panel weatherstripping is designed to seal the gaps between individual door panels.
Mister Condo replies:
K.K., that’s a lot of information about garage door weather seals! You have certainly done your research. Traditionally, condo association assign the responsibility for all garage door-related items to the unit owner. As you have mentioned, it is a limited common element and most commonly for the exclusive use of the unit owner. Unless the governing documents state otherwise, the responsibility should lie with the unit owner. However, if you find that the association has historically handled these repairs/maintenance or if your governing documents state that garage doors are association owned and maintained, the association may be on the hook. In my experience, this sounds like a unit owner responsibility. All the best!