Q. I own a condominium, and I had a water leak that emanated from a pipe in the unit above. The water leak caused damage to my drywall ceiling. The unit owner had the pipe repaired but refuses to cover the damages to my unit. Who is responsible for repairing my drywall?
A. Section 9.1(a) of the Condominium Act states, in part, that a unit owner shall be liable for any damage as a result of the use or operation of the unit or caused by their own conduct. This means that ultimately the owner of the unit the water leak emanated from will be responsible for damages to the other unit, however, the association has the responsibility to repair drywall damage in a unit up to a primer coat of paint and in most circumstances, will assess the cost thereof to the unit owner where the water leak emanated per Section 9.1 of the Condominium Act.
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Q. I’m on the board of a small, self-managed condominium association. We recently became aware that Fannie Mae published new lender guidelines that require condominium associations to answer a new Fannie Mae condominium project questionnaire addendum that contains, in my opinion, overly broad questions relating to the condition of the building. Are condominium associations required to respond to these questions?
A. An Illinois condominium association is not required under the Condominium Act to provide a response to the new Fannie Mae condominium project questionnaire addendum, however, condominium boards may feel forced to provide responses to these questions in order to facilitate unit sales and refinancing opportunities for owners. The board will need to make a decision as to whether to provide responses to the questions in the addendum, and if so, the extent of those responses. The board will also need to decide what, if any, reports or supplemental documents the board will provide to lenders as a part of their response.
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In addition, no matter what response the board ultimately decides on, it is recommended that the responses be reviewed by legal counsel given that some of the new questions require representations on the condition of the building that an ordinary lay person would not be in a position to make. Thus, disclaimer language along with a board’s answers is suggested to mitigate potential liability to the condominium board.
Q. I have lived in my town home community for more than 25 years. I fell in love with the traditional gabled roof architecture and warm colors of the buildings. However, our association board president over the years has changed the colors of exterior elements from time to time without owner input or approval, which changes the character of the building. Does a board president have the authority to implement material changes to the exterior elements?
A. Architectural control and authority over the exterior elements of a community association is set forth in the town home declaration and bylaws that are recorded against the town home association. Customarily, such documents provide that the town home association is responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of exterior elements. It is possible, but would be highly unusual, for a town home declaration and bylaws to grant the board of directors the authority to change the architectural character of the buildings at their whim.
In the unusual circumstance that the declaration and bylaws do allow the board such authority, it would require a majority vote of a quorum of the board. A board president alone would not have the authority to make architectural decisions on behalf of the board of directors.
Got a question for the Condo Adviser? Email ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com.
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