HOA Q&A: If personal property blows onto condo roof, does owner or HOA pay to remove it?

Editor’s note: Attorneys at Goede, DeBoest & Cross respond to questions about Florida community association law. With offices in Naples, Fort Myers, Coral Gables and Boca Raton, the firm represents community associations throughout Florida and focuses on condominium and homeowner association law, real estate law, litigation, estate planning and business law.

Q:  During a recent storm, swirling 65+mph winds picked up a small piece of patio furniture from my second-floor balcony and lifted it up and over the roof, whereupon it landed on another roof.  The management company had reached out to the community asking to keep them apprised of any storm-related issues or damage.  I immediately let them know of the situation. (It is my understanding that our condo documents specify that “outside” items —specifically, the roof, in this case — are the responsibility of the condo, and my monthly condo fees are, in part, to fund any clean-up, maintenance, etc. of said roof.)

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Upon notifying the management company, I was told that since the debris is my personal property, that I am responsible for getting it off the roof. Of course, I have no means to do so myself; and if I hire someone who damages the roof (or gets hurt) then whose responsibility is it? Now, we do have a paid maintenance person who was doing other storm cleanup (limbs, branches, etc), but he is not insured to go up on the roof. This seems a big deficit, but that responsibility should not then fall on the homeowner.  Additionally, had this debris been a tree branch or limb, the management company would have had to have removed it.

So, my question is: Does my board and/or management company have any standing in claiming no responsibility for removal of storm debris off the roof based on the source/type of debris; namely personal property.  There are no such exclusions, or other restrictions, in our documents as far as I know.

Since they are absolutely refusing to address this situation, am I within my rights to deduct from my next Condo invoice any cost I incur to remove this item? J.L. – Fort Pierce

A: As the Association is responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the roofs, it is the Association’s responsibility to have the roof debris removed and the cost is a common expense.  Thereafter, if the Association could prove you were negligent for failing to remove your balcony furniture, they could seek to recover the cost of the removal from you.  Whether you were negligent depends on whether or not there was a rule in place requiring you to remove the furniture before a known storm that was predicted to affect the area.  If this was a sudden unnamed weather event it is highly unlikely you could be deemed negligent. If this was a named storm with advance warning and there was a rule in place requiring you to take precautions, then the possibility of you being deemed negligent is greater.  However, in the grand scheme of things, I cannot believe that removing storm debris from a roof would be that costly.  As for withholding payment of your assessments, you should not do that.  Generally, you cannot legally withhold payments because you disagree with the Board on the operation of the Association.

Q: I know the Condominium Act allows a unit owner to install an electric vehicle charging station in an exclusive use parking space.  I have a limited common element parking space and want to install an EV charger, but the electrical grid infrastructure of my condominium building is old, and I am told it cannot handle the additional load of an EV charger.  I asked the Board to upgrade the system and they said no.  Is the Association required to upgrade the “grid” to allow for EV chargers? J.M. - Stuart

A: No.  While you are correct that the Condominium Act allows owners to install EV chargers in their parking space the cost of doing so is solely the cost of the individual owner.  If the overall electrical grid of the Condominium does not have the capacity to handle the EV charger, the Association is not required to upgrade the grid.  However, as EVs are becoming increasingly popular, a forward-thinking Board may want to consider upgrading the electrical infrastructure of the Condominium as it will likely add to the property value of the units as compared to an equivalent Condominium without the ability to install EVs.

Richard D. DeBoest
Richard D. DeBoest

Richard D. DeBoest, Esq., is a Partner of the Law Firm Goede, DeBoest & Cross.  Visit www.gadclaw.com or to ask questions about your issues for future columns, send your inquiry to: question@gadclaw.com.  The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.  The publication of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Goede, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our attorneys.  Readers should not act or refrain from acting based upon the information contained in this article without first contacting an attorney, if you have questions about any of the issues raised herein.  The hiring of an attorney is a decision that should not be based solely on advertisements or this column.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: HOA Q&A: Who's responsible for clearing storm debris, property off roof?