HOA's weird interpretation of what a garage is

General Landlording & Rental Properties
5yFollow

HOA's weird interpretation of what a garage is

Cary Lin
Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 1 vote

Hi fellow bigpocketers, I have a question on, to me, a weird interpretation of what a garage contains from our condo association in NJ. Our condo contains a 2-car garage that our unit can go into directly. However, according to our By-Law/Master Deed, Garage is considered a part of "Limited Common Elements".

Specifically, from our Master Deed: The Limited Common Elements of the condominium shall include any deck, patio, stairs, or garage to which there is direct access to that unit which is appurtenant to same, or any car port to which a Unit has been assigned....These Limited Common Elements are reserved for the use of the Unit(s) either immediately adjacent thereto or for the use of Units to which they have been assigned, to the exclusion of all other Units....Any expenses of repair or replacement relating to said Limited Common Elements, or involving structural maintenance, repair or replacement, shall be the responsibility of the Association, excepting for costs necessitated by negligence, misuse, or neglect of the Unit by a Unit Owner.

One day, someone (not anyone I know) likely backed into our garage and crashed the garage doors. There was no video or anything indicating who did this. After I reported this to our Association, believing they should be replacing the garage door, Association's attorney told me Garage door is owner's responsibility. She completely ignored the above section specifically defining the responsibility on Limited Common Elements. The attorney continued to tell me that doors are the responsibility of the Unit owner.

Does this make any sense?

0Reply
46 views

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Caroline Gerardo
    Lender · Washington DC · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Your HO6 insurance or the Master insurance policy might cover. Get the whole policy out and see what they state. Send a letter to the HOA rather than call.

    0Reply
  • Harrison Engle
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    5y



    Replacement usually falls under the HOA for exclusive use common area.

    Ctrl+F garage door or maintenance responsibilities, if you have it in PDF form. 

    Even exclusive use common elements have levels of maintenance that can be split between owner and HOA, such as repair, upkeep, and replacement. Replacement usually falls under the HOA for exclusive use common area.

    If you can't find this spelled out, like Caroline said, your H06 would definitely do the footwork to confirm so they don't have to pay the claim. 

    0Reply
  • Cary Lin
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    Thanks for the replies. When I spoke with our HOA and HOA's attorney (I actually did an ADR), they claimed:

    1. There is no way garage door is HOA's responsibility. The president said "because I said so."

    2. HOA also claimed they never read the Master Deed, but their attorney did and she told them garage door is owner's responsibility.

    3. The president also claimed that maybe (yes, he said maybe without any concrete proof because he said he said how my tenant drives and she always had to go back and forth a few times to get into garage) it was my tenant who hit the garage door and damaged it. They completely ignored the fact that the door was hit from outside in, not inside out. So even if my tenant did it, there would be no way for her car to be removed without completely removing the garage door first. Also, as far as I can tell, even if the person who damages the garage door is someone related to me, the association should still be responsible to replace it, but, they do reserve the right to charge me for the cost. Am I right about this?

    0Reply
  • Andrew B.
    Rockaway, NJ · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    I'm on the board of my condo association and our garages are also considered "limited common elements" and we take responsibility of repairing them or replacing when they are beyond repair. However, we are in the process of digging ourselves out of a deep financial hole and we do not do anything unless the garage door is in dangerous shape or extreme disrepair. We have had requests to replace doors in the past and the response is usually, we don't have the money for cosmetic upgrades but youre welcome to replace it yourself if you match the style and color. 

    Maybe follow up and ask if your situation is anything like mine, simply because it will help you understand the situation.

    For what it's worth I completely agree, based on the excerpts you've posted, that garage doors are your associations responsibility. If they are refusing to replace it, your recourse would be to sue, which is not a good idea for something this small. My preferred course of action would be to get on the board and straighten out the issues myself. 

    0Reply
  • Bill B.
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    5y

    I don’t know if it differed by locale or just association. But I can tell you I’ve received letters from associations on my properties saying I have x number of days to repair/replace my garage doors, at my expense, before the fines start. This has been because of something as small as a panel dent or a crimp on the bottom. 

    You could always fix it and then take them to small claims court? The doors are surprisingly cheap. 

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free