K.H. from New Haven County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
If damage is done to a downstairs unit, can the unit owner downstairs choose to use their own contractor to do the repair job?
Mister Condo replies:
K.H., I am sorry that a unit was damaged. The choice of contractor to handle the repair is generally determined by who pays for the repair. Even when insurance is involved, it is typically the insured who selects the contractor. If the association or upstairs neighbor is responsible for the damage, they have the right to get bids and select the contractor they believe best to get the job done. This often leads to the lowest bid getting the job which may or may not produce the best results for the claimant of the damage. It is also common practice for the claimant to accept a financial settlement for the damage and then select their own contractor (even if it costs more than the settlement amount). This option allows for the claimant to control the quality of the work and even have upgrades done during the repair process that doesn’t cost any extra for the person or association who was responsible for the initial damage. The damaged party has the right to expect their unit repaired to “like kind” status before the damage. They don’t have the right to select the contractor or force the damaging party to pay more than they have to for the repair. Hope that helps!
I certainly would not go with the lowest bid. And make sure contractor has minimum 1 Million liability and 500.000 to 1 million in commercial auto which most smaller companies don’t have
Insurance does not choose the contractor neither can the insured if they are not the owner of the property at least in Florida. If an upstairs neighbor causes damaged they are responsible to a downstairs neighbor the owner of the property gets top choose. The real question when it comes to condos is who the real owners of the property is again in Florida the perimeter walls up to the surface of the dry wall floor and ceiling are association property. They would be the responsibility of the association, wall coverings, paint, flooring and everything in the unit belongs to the unit owner and they would be in control of that. If the person responsible for the damage does not agree to the cost of repairs or the amount of damage (including their insurance company if applicable) it’s a matter for the courts.