When an owner knows that something needs repair in his or her unit and neglects to do it, resulting in damage to association common property, is the association responsible for repairing the damage ca
The association has the duty to repair and maintain its common areas, regardless of why such repair or maintenance is necessary. Since such damage was caused by lack of maintenance (i.e. the owner’s failure to report the problem or repair it his or herself), it is unlikely that an association’s insurance would cover the repair costs. (Insurance usually only covers single-event losses, such as storm damage, not damage caused by failure to maintain.)
However, since the owner’s negligence caused the damage, the association should be able to seek reimbursement from the negligent owner for the costs of repairing the damaged common area. The governing documents of newer associations often specifically allow for reimbursement special assessments under these circumstances. However, older documents usually do not address this issue and associations would be advised to amend them to do so.
