Is it OK (consequence-free) for my condo association to delay all roof shingle replacements until January?

August 10, 2009 5:28 PM

Is it OK (consequence-free) for my condo association to delay all roof shingle replacements until January?

We're heading into hurricane / big wet storm season here in North Carolina, and I just found out that our condo association, in order to build up our cash reserves after some heavy spending, has decided that only certain repairs (safety issues, condo sales inspections) will be performed until the next fiscal year begins in January.

I don't care too much about my one shingle falling off, but knowing the extent of the damage that a leaky roof caused to my condo _before_ and not wanting to see that happen to several people through the community -- and thus being, as part of the collective, responsible for those expensive potential repairs -- I'm worried about this as a policy.

I just talked to a board member who seemed to feel that roof shingles weren't that big a deal, and that even under normal circumstances, a single shingle might not be replaced right away. But the roofs here are such that shingles fall off occasionally, and so I'd really like to know what the risks are here.

I realize that there's a "membrane" under the shingles, then the plywood of the roof under that, so obviously water's not going to be dripping in any time soon - but I don't want my or my neighbor's wooden roof framing to rot, I don't want additional damage if a very strong storm does come along, and I'm not sure whether the (perhaps low) risk of these things happening would outweigh the "reward" of merely delaying these repairs for five months.

Does anyone know how worried I should be?

If you think I should be worried, I'd love to have some data-like facty sources to bring to the next board meeting.

posted by amtho to home & garden (3 comments total)

Well, I can't speak to your bylaws (which should govern what's OK for your condo association to do or not), but I would imagine that delaying the shingle repair, should it lead to damage, would open the condo association up to liability for said damage. No one wants their house rotted, obviously, and there are often a lot of hinky decisions that have to be made by a board regarding capital outlay and repair prioritization, but if they're your only option for shingles (due to zoning restraints or contiguous building or what have you) and they don't prioritize that enough to make sure that you can keep the wet out, it would seem that they would be on the hook.

I might make sure that my insurance was up to date, however.
posted by klangklangston at 5:48 PM on August 10

Yes, the condo association would be liable for that damage - but they're essentially us, you know? As I tried to explain (badly, it seems), I am, in a sense, worried about the collective liability, of which I'm a part, more than my individual building.

The probability of near-term obvious damage to our one unit may be small, but spread out over the entire complex, and accepting that the association is essentially handling my dues and that I'm, in a sense, responsible for their actions -- I want to know what really makes sense from their point of view.

In other words, I'm pretty sure that if I could make a convincing case that the shingles should be fixed, they'd listen -- but I honestly don't know what's right here, or what the probabilities of expensive damage as a result of this would be.
posted by amtho at 6:09 PM on August 10

IANAL and can't speak to your condo association's exposure, but I can tell you that wood rot is not something you should be worried about in such a short time frame. If there were active leaks that were going to go unaddressed for a couple of years then rot would be part of the equation, but not in the next several months.

That said, I don't think you need to make a case that damage could be be catastrophic. Unless the assoc. plans to completely replace roofs in January, what is saved by delaying needed repairs? Unless the assoc. has neither the cash nor the access to credit to do the work now, it just isn't worth gambling.
posted by jon1270 at 5:37 AM on August 11