M.B. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Can a condo board withhold unit repairs to an owner who is delinquent?
Mister Condo replies:
M.B., that is a loaded question with lots of possible answers! Since I am not an attorney, I must recommend that you speak with a qualified community association attorney from your area to determine if withholding repairs is within the association’s rights. Typically, my answer would be that the association has a duty to upkeep and maintain all common elements as they are property of the association and not the individual unit owners. The association’s governance documents clearly state what is the association’s duty to maintain. This would usually include parking lots, landscaping, amenities like pools, sidewalks, roofs and building exteriors. Now, if a unit owner became delinquent in their common fees and needed a roof replaced over their unit, the association would still have to maintain that roof because they own it, not the individual unit owner. Failure to maintain a common element would be akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face. It will still need to be done whether the unit owner living under that roof is delinquent or not. I think the more important question here is what steps the association CAN take to either bring this unit owner up to date with fees or force a foreclosure where by the association evicts the unit owner, and, hopefully, replaces the unit owner with a dues-paying owner. If you haven’t already done so, consult with your association’s attorney and make sure the proper steps are being taken. Good luck!