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Dear Poliakoffs,
Last month a huge tree fell on our one-story condo building. My condo sustained damage and there is a leak going into the attic section of my condo. The association has placed a tarp on the roof, but it repeatedly becomes undone. I email management each time that it happens. Currently, it is hurricane season in Florida and lately there have been huge storms on a daily basis. I'm concerned about mold and mildew growing in the attic. What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for the association to fix the hole in the roof?
Signed, V.K.
Dear V.K.
I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your condo. At least, the condo does not seem to be disclaiming its responsibility to repair the damage to the roof, which damage was caused by an insurable event and therefore is clearly their responsibility pursuant to Section 718.111(11), Fla. Stat.
Ultimately, the condominium has an obligation to have the roof repaired in a reasonable manner. It’s hard to say what is causing the delay. If the association is just ignoring the damage to your roof and does not actually intend to repair it, it is going to end up being legally responsible for the damage caused to your unit, although a lawsuit may be required to enforce that obligation. If, instead, the association is in the process of soliciting bids due to the size of the project; or if they have engaged a contractor who had to order parts that are held up by the supply chain delays that everyone is experiencing, that is going to be a different situation. But, either way, the board still has the obligation to properly dry-in your roof with the tarp, and if they haven’t ensured that the tarp is installed correctly, that might be yet another example of their negligence that could lead to liability.
Have you inspected the attic to see if it is in fact getting wet, or if there are current mold issues? It might be worthwhile to take a look (or if you are not able to do so, hiring a handyman to do so for you). It would at least either give you some comfort that there is no active damage occurring, or, if in fact the attic is being actively damaged, it would instead prove that more aggressive actions against your association is going to be required. Either way, it sounds as if you need to get more information and push a bit harder. You may want to consider sending the board an inquiry by certified mail, asking them questions about whether they have engaged someone to repair the roof, if so what the timeline will be, if no when they intend to hire someone, etc. At least then you will have formal answers (and if the board refuses to provide you with substantive answers to these questions as the statute requires, and to the extent a lawsuit develops later on, they might be precluded from recovering their legal fees).