Roofing guide for a Condominium Unit

The most important fact about a condominium roof is that it is almost certainly not yours. Everything else follows from that.

Who owns it

In nearly every condominium, the roof is a common element owned collectively and maintained by the association. You own the interior of your unit, generally from the drywall inward, and a share of everything else.

The declaration and bylaws govern. They define what is common element, what is limited common element, and who pays for what.

Read them before a leak rather than during one. The recurring dispute after a roof leak is who pays for the damage inside the unit, and the answer is in the documents rather than in anyone's opinion.

The two insurance policies

The association carries a master policy covering the building and common elements.

You carry a unit owner policy, often called an HO-6, covering your contents, your improvements and in most structures the interior finishes.

When water comes through a common element roof into your unit, the ceiling, the flooring and the contents are commonly your policy's problem while the roof itself is the association's.

Two deductibles, two carriers, one event. Know both before you need them.

What a top floor owner actually controls

Reporting, documenting and escalating. Not repairing.

A unit owner who hires a roofer to work on a common element roof will generally not be reimbursed and may be in breach of the declaration.

What you can do is report in writing, photograph everything, keep a dated record, and hold the association to its maintenance obligation.

Reserves and special assessments

The roof is normally the largest single line in the association's reserve study.

If reserves are underfunded when the roof reaches the end of its life, the shortfall arrives as a special assessment divided among owners. On a large building that is a meaningful number per unit.

As an owner, the useful action is preventive and administrative: ask for the reserve study, ask when the roof was last assessed, and ask what remaining useful life figure the reserve contribution is based on.

Buying a top floor unit

Ask for the reserve study, the last roof condition assessment, the minutes of any board discussion about the roof, and the history of special assessments.

A cheap top floor unit in a building with a twenty year old roof and thin reserves is not cheap.

What to establish today

Who maintains the roof under your declaration. What your unit policy covers. The roof's age. The reserve position. Whether any assessment has been discussed.