January 30th, 2010

As seen in The Arizona Republic
by: Clint G. Goodman

Your Home and the Law is authored by the attorneys at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law and addresses legal issues that arise for renters and homeowners. Have a question related to your home? Send your questions to firm@jacksonwhitelaw.com.

Question:  The torrential downpour over the weekend flooded several homes in our association.  As a director, I am concerned that many of the homeowners will blame the board.  Will our association need to pay to fix their homes?

Answer:  Excellent question!  Many in outlying areas need this question answered and fast. Generally, I recommend that homeowners with homes damaged in last week’s storms first contact their private homeowner insurance company and open a claim with them.  Some insurance policies cover these claims while others may not.  If not, the homeowner may want to seek out legal counsel and learn whether the claim was wrongfully denied. 

The homeowner may consider contacting the association.  Typically, this option should only be considered after the homeowner’s private insurance claim is denied and only if the damage can be attributed to something the association did wrong.  For example, some associations must maintain drainage areas that run through their neighborhoods.  If the association neglected this duty it may be on the hook for damages.  The extent of an association’s maintenance obligations, the quality of maintenance provided and whether upstream homeowners modified or impaired drainage systems are just a few of the many factors to consider when answering this question.   Associations should be fine as long as they did everything they were required to do.  

Sometimes homes are still flooded even when associations do everything they can to prevent it.  I know of several communities were the developer did not build something to code or per the approved plans.  In communities like this it may make sense to explore whether the developer should share the cost in fixing some homes.

Clint G. Goodman is a HOA attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. He can be reached at cgoodman@jacksonwhitelaw.com. For more information on JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law, please visit www.jacksonwhitelaw.com.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace individual legal advice.