HOA responsibility

The HOA is responsible to pay for the damage,

It depends entirely, Bruce, on the kind of master insurance your CC&Rs require the assoc. to buy. Read the insurance section of your CC&Rs. Or cite the section exactly here for an interpretation.

Some, like for my HOA, is "bare walls" insurance and covers basically only replacement/repair of the ceiling & floor wallboard and floor surface (not coverings), when the damage comes from the common area. The only way the HOA is responsble is if it was negligent,

Other CC&Rs insurance requires--when damage form the common area-- a master policy that covers repir/replace of the attached items in a home, e.g., cabinets, counters, fixtures, etc. hard surface or carpeting installed on the floors. It, of course is way more expensive than "bare walls."

Our policy is similar to Kerry's. The last time our roofs were replaced, homeowners received a notice a week before the work began stating things hung on the walls should be removed before the work begins to reduce the chance of damage - and reminded that the association's master policy doesn't cover anything from the drywall in, so they should make sure their individual policies have the appropriate coverage.

The association is not automatically responsible for all damage from the roof just because they maintain the roof.

If there is a sudden, unexpected leak, then chances are the association is not responsible.

On the other hand, if the association knew or should have known that the roof was leaky, and failed to correct the leak, then the association is likely negligent and therefore responsible for damage that is caused.

What is the situation?

It depends. Factors include whether the damage is due to maintenance issues or to an insurable event like a storm, what the CC&Rs say, and what the association's master insurance policy covers.

Boards often wrongly assume that any damage originating in the common elements is the responsibility of the association. Not so. I asked our insurance agent about whether they look at "who's to blame", and he said no - it's strictly who pays for what according to the CC&Rs and the policies involved.

Something like mold that results from a slow leak in the roof and is only now making its presence known is generally considered "maintenance", and CC&Rs often say that owners are responsible for maintenance items. By contract, a storm that tears up the roof and allows water to intrude into the interior of a unit is an insurable event. Depending on the kind of insurance the association is carrying (bare walls vs. all-included), the association may cover some of the repairs.

Most master policies will not cover owners' personal belongings, not even the all-included policies. Owners have to insure those items themselves.

If an owner wants to claim that the association was negligent, that a different matter. Once you get into a legal dispute, costs can skyrocket You can easily end up spending far more trying to prove that you're right than you would have spent on footing the repair bill yourself. You're generally much better off settling things without getting lawyers involved.

We have all-included insurance in my community. Interior damage resulting from slow leaks in roofs or common elements plumbing are owner responsibility (ask me how I know). But the master policy covered repairs to portions of units when there were kitchen fires. Condo insurance is often complicated and confusing. If possible, we try to let the insurance companies sort it out between themselves.

Hi folks thanks for the input. Our HOA is not a condo but HOA inc. It looks like from the CC&R that the insurance the Association gets is on the common property only. If that is true then how long does the HOA have to fix the roof leak that is damaging the unit? If they take too long the interior damage will be more so don't they have a time frame to act to avoid a bigger interior repair bill?

HI yes the agent is being notified
thanks for all the input