Who is responsible for the roof, siding, fence, or pipes — me or the HOA?
It depends on what you own and what the CC&Rs assign. There is no national default that “the HOA always does the roof.” Condos, townhomes, and single-family HOAs split this differently, and two townhome communities on the same street can disagree.
Typical process: something fails — roof leak, siding, a fence, a slab leak. You call the manager. They say it is your component. You say it is common area. Meanwhile water is still coming in. The useful document is the maintenance matrix in the declaration (sometimes a table: association vs. owner vs. owner with association approval). Insurance is a second overlay: the master policy may pay a building claim with a large deductible that the CC&Rs then assign to one owner or to a special assessment.
Rough patterns, always check your docs:
- Condo: association often maintains the roof, exterior, and common plumbing; you maintain the interior “from the paint in.” Limited common elements (a balcony, a garage) can be owner or association.
- Townhome: mixed. Some associations maintain roofs and exteriors for uniformity; others make each owner do it and only police paint colors.
- Single-family HOA: you usually maintain your roof, siding, driveway, and backyard fence. The association maintains private streets, gates, and true common parcels. Party fences may be shared with a neighbor, not with the HOA.
What controls: CC&Rs first, then bylaws/rules (rules cannot usually dump a CC&R duty onto you), then state condo or planned-community statutes, then the insurance policies. After a storm, read the deductible and “loss assessment” language too.
State examples, labeled as such: some state condo acts define “common elements” and repair duties when the declaration is silent. Florida’s condo statute (Ch. 718) is not the same as Florida’s HOA statute (Ch. 720). California condos follow Davis-Stirling plus the declaration. Do not borrow a condo statute if you own a detached house.
Next steps:
- Pull the maintenance, common-area, and insurance articles. Highlight the exact component.
- Report the problem in writing anyway, with photos and the date you noticed it, so delay does not get blamed on you.
- If it is clearly yours, mitigate damage (tarp, shut off water). If it is clearly theirs, give written notice and keep paying dues.
- Request the master-policy declarations and any board policy on deductibles.
- Do not withhold assessments to force a repair.
If the leak is active, the documents conflict, or they want you to pay a huge deductible, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state.
This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state’s law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.