Townhouse Roof Responsibility

The financial responsibility for a roof is not as straightforward for condo owners as it is for traditional detached home owners.

Townhouse roof responsibility.

Townhouses are typically the responsibility of the homeowner since there is no joint ownership of land or building. You share ownership of many building features including the roof. Typically the governing docs provide that the owner is responsible for all the structural components including the roof. I own a townhouse and roofs are owners not hoa responsibility.

The problem is the owner s roof joins other roofs. Therefore if an association becomes aware of a potential roof leak ice damming or other situation where it appears that some maintenance may be necessary to an area of a townhome exterior for which the association is responsible it is important for the association to act within a reasonable time frame in investigating the issue and if necessary take the appropriate steps to repair replace the item at issue. They are merely built adjoining each other but each person owns their own unit. If a townhouse is a rental property owned by a landlord who collects rent from a tenant the landlord is typically responsible for the roof repairs.

I own a townhouse that shares a roof with two other units. Unless you are getting an absolute steal on this property i would require the seller replace the roof. In a simple sense a community association is formed for the purpose of maintaining the common areas within the community while the owners are responsible for maintaining their own homes or units. If you get a contractor to replace that owner s portion of the roof the contractor won t provide a warranty because there s a seam between the two adjoining townhomes.

Whether the roof is leaking a water line is busted or a window needs to be cleaned questions of who provides maintenance in a community governed by a homeowners association arise regularly. The shared spaces in townhouse communities are often much smaller compared to that of a condo. For example perhaps the tenant stood on the roof to jump into the pool and damaged the shingles while he or she was up there. Responsibilities when owning a townhouse when owning a townhouse the owner is responsible for the exterior of the home and the land around it.

If you are simply the tenant a townhouse roof problem is an inconvenience but thankfully it s not going to drain your finances this is your landlord s problem. This means the costs associated with the hoa are significantly lower than with a condominium. Occasionally a property owner is able to argue that a tenant caused the damage to the roof. I consider an original roof with a leak and only 2 years life left in it to be a bad roof.

The roof is contiguous.