Rights of Contractors/Owners in Unit Repair

Several attached condos need to have their ceiling beams repaired for which the HOA is responsible. Homeowners will need to vacate during the repairs and occupancy will only be permitted after an inspector declares it safe. These repairs will take place in the summer in Arizona. Who has the right to control the thermostat setting for each individual owner's air conditioning unit? Obviously the thermostat setting is a matter of personal preference. Some people have their air conditioning temperature set at 90 and use ceiling fans or portable fans, others have it set at 82 and others at 70. Should the contractor or the homeowner via instruction have the right to turn on the air conditioning and set the temperature? Since these repairs will take multiple days, is an owner basically at the mercy of the contractors and whether they leave lights, a/c on when not working etc.?

I say the workers set the temperatures. Good lord, man, it's summer in Arizona! It's one thing to sit on your hinder all day in an 82 degree home, it's another to do manual labor in it. The workers may well refuse to work in unsafe working conditions and risk things like heat stroke.

People who live in condos need to understand that it isn't all about them. They have obligations to the association as a whole, and sometimes they gotta take one for the team. It's in their best interest that the building not fall down around their ears, and sometimes that may involve additional costs.

I can practically guarantee that some of these folks will insist that the association pay for the extra electricity used. That actually may not be totally out of line, although I don't know how you'd determine an accurate dollar amount since you'll have other things like weather that cause fluctuations in energy bills.

This question is so silly I simply don't know what to say.

Why do you think this is silly? How would you like being a homeowner who finds out the contractor set the thermostat at 65 degrees and as you may or may not realize, utility rates are high where I live and many cannot afford their summer bills.

At most it would aggravate me but other than ask that it be kept at maybe 72 degrees I wouldn't complain. This is common decency. I don't expect contractors to work in my house under horrible conditions because I have a heart. If a 7-10 degree difference over a 2-3 day period is going to cause them a financial hardship then they have much bigger problems. I realize my response is not a 'legal' answer but I don't care. This is a silly, silly question for this forum.

I usually say there are no stupid questions, only the ones you don't ask, but honestly, JoB this one does tip to the absurd. I don't know if your utility company has a budget plan, but if it does, homeowners should consider applying for it. The programmable thermostats, ceiling fans and portable fans were developed in part to help people regulars energy use and save a few dollars in the process.

I don't expect a contractor to roast in someone home during a year wave (or a typical day in Tempe during July), but this simply a matter of turning the air conditioner, can whatever off and on. If the homeowners can't figure that out, I don't know what to say - how did they come to be homeowners?

If this is one of your hypotheticals, put this away and come back to it IF a problem develops. I understand wanting to have a plan in place, but you can't always predict everything.

You asked it before he did...LOL

Rights? This isn't a rights situation. It's just common courtesy. Have you ever worked as a contractor or with them? Let me tell you they would NOT touch someone's thermostat. Heck you'd be lucky if you get one to close a door!

I've worked as an Electrician's assistant. Had to go up to attic spaces in Alabama summers to install ceiling fans. Well over 100 degrees, no air movement, and rat turds... My electrical system had to be replaced one summer. The workers spent 12 hours in a house with no electrical. Well over 100 degrees. (I spent a week with 4 dogs in that heat). I've helped build over 25 houses and we never bothered concerning ourselves over using the air/water/electrical.

So I have no idea why this would even be a concern or much thought. I can understand maybe water usage for certain projects. However, the actual environment for heat/cool it's not even a consideration.

I honestly would not care. Even if the job took a month, the increase in the electric bill would be negligible compared to the job you are paying them to do they are doing.

This is not hypo nonsense. we currently have a sidng project going on in our condo assoc. Some homeowners are complaining about the contractor plugging into their outlets to run some saws and equipment. We also have gutter cleaning that goes on and the homeowners complain about the contracting hooking up to their hose bib.

So should these extra expense be shared among all condo owners or just the lucky ones, regardless of how minimal or expensive the cost is?

I think that in theory it should be a condo expense (ie, shared). The problem is determining how much electricity has been used by the contractors, since there are other factors that can make bills vary from the historical average. On the other hand, at some point everyone is going to have their siding worked on, so over time it should all average out. In theory.

Good post. Too bad others are so critical unnecessarily.

This is a continuation of my last post. I accidentally hit the submit button. Here's my take on this as an HOA board member.

Now let's continue on with the AC hypothetical situation from an HOA perspective. The first thing I would do is ask the complaining homeowner where in the governing documents does it state that the HOA reimburses for utility costs that are a result of repairs being done on there unit? Since they aren't going to be able to do this I would tell them to go pound sand and the conversation would end. Here's some other things to ponder:

1.) Even if the HOA wanted to, how would they calculate what amount should be reimbursed by the HOA? In your scenario the owners have vacated the unit. Let's assume the contractors work from 9-5. During this period they will obviously use electricity. However after 5:00PM it is reasonable to assume that less electricity will be used since no one is there. Do the two offset each other? Does the board have the right to insist that the homeowner show their average electricity usage between 5:00PM and 9:00AM the next morning? If you argue we don't, why wouldn't we? We are applying the same mentality as the homeowner. After all this about the cost of the electricity right down to the penny.

2.) What recourse does the homeowner have in the scenario that you laid out? In your scenario they are either extremely cheap or they are in financial trouble. Either way, would they be willing to fund a law suite that will cost x times more than the alleged cost of the extra electricity that the contractor has used? I highly doubt it and I would take my chances and continue to tell them to go pound sand.

Google "can a contractor sue a homeowner". Also, since we are playing with your hypothetical the worker was inside and not on the roof. Anybody can sue for anything they want. They may lose but they can sure drag the HOA through the mud while they're doing it.