Live in a home governed by a condominium, co-op or homeowner’s association? Have questions about what they can and cannot do? Ryan Poliakoff, an attorney and author based in Boca Raton, has answers.
Question: I live in a 55+ villa community. We have two community pools and a clubhouse. The rules state that parking at the pools and clubhouse is restricted to residents or guests using the facilities, with the exception that guests can park at the pools or clubhouse overnight but must move the vehicles during the day.
A resident has a handicapped friend that routinely uses the handicapped space at one of the pool facilities when visiting the resident (they are not using the facility). Is this something that would be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]? Or is it right to reserve the spot for someone using the facility? Signed, P.C.
Dear P.C.,
First, remember that your community is very likely not governed by the ADA. The ADA governs places of public accommodation, like stores and hotels. It doesn’t apply to private communities. The reason that you have handicapped parking spaces in your community is simply because the building code requires them.
The question, then, is whether your association has the right to impose rules on the use of the handicapped spaces. I think that they do, and so if you wanted to have a rule that the handicapped spaces at the pool are only for use by pool guests, I suspect it would be found reasonable and enforceable.
Just keep in mind that disabled persons are entitled to accommodations of your rules if required due to their disability; so, if the guest you described needs a parking space near her owner friend due to her medical condition, the association may need to find a way to accommodate them. This is something the board can evaluate with your attorney.
Neighbor’s reno wrecked my A/C, now no one wants to pay for the fix
Question: I live in a condominium. My building has two floors with four units on the top floor and four units on the bottom. My neighbor below me is renovating his condo and he hired a contractor to gut his unit and rebuild it. In early June I lost cooling in my central A/C system. I went down and spoke with the plumber working in my neighbor’s unit below me. I wanted to see if there was a problem with the renovation work since my A/C freon pipe runs down to that unit and then under the slab floor out to my air conditioning compressor outside of the building.
The contractor said there was no problem in the unit. I saw the cement floor had a trench dug into it and I saw mine and my neighbors freon lines running through the trench. I called my A/C company, and the tech told me I had no freon in my system. The tech ran freon through my compressor outside and we went back into my neighbor’s unit and saw freon bubbling up in one of the two pipes running through the trench. It appears the contractor nicked my freon pipe when they dug the trench.
I called my neighbor, and he arranged for the contractor to repair the pipe and fill the freon in my system. My A/C company charged me $320 for the visit to troubleshoot the leak.
When I go to my neighbor to collect the $320, he tells me the contractor will pay me. When I contact the contractor, he says the plumber will pay me. When I ask the plumber, he said he knows nothing about paying me $320 for their screwup.
I do not want to go to small claims court to file an action. What recourse do I have with my condominium board or the building department to recover my $320? Signed, F.Y.
Dear F.Y.,
While it’s quite clear that the owner of the unit below you should be responsible for the cost of repairing your freon line (including the initial visit and investigation), you don’t have many alternatives but to take him to small claims court to recover.
It doesn’t sound as if the condominium association was involved in this dispute at all, and so I don’t see how you can demand they pay you the money for your repair. Even if it was their responsibility to repair the freon line (for example, if your declaration of condominium assigns that responsibility to them), because you had it fixed without going through them, you’re not now going to be able to demand they pay you back.
It’s probably not worth your time or effort to chase your neighbor over $320. I hope that they do the right thing and pay you, and then fight to get that money back from their contractors, but if they don’t, it’s likely just one of those unfortunate situations in life where we cover costs that we ultimately shouldn’t be responsible for. But that’s what small claims court is for.
Ryan Poliakoff, a partner at Poliakoff Backer, LLP, is a Board Certified specialist in condominium and planned development law. This column is dedicated to the memory of Gary Poliakoff. Ryan Poliakoff and Gary Poliakoff are co-authors of “New Neighborhoods — The Consumer’s Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living.” Email your questions to condocolumn@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your location.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Condo guest is taking up pool parking space. What limits can Florida HOA put on parking?
Reporting by Ryan Poliakoff / Palm Beach Post
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