It's raining INSIDE my condo!!!
 

To make the long story short, I've reported a leak to my HOA after the first major storm of the season and then again, several times when I havent' heard anything from them. While on vacation, I've asked my parents to come by every so often to check on the leak. They lined the area with plastic and came by to toss water every other day 'cause it was so bad.

Faster forward today... i came home to a 4'x4' and growing wetspot in the carpet. because of the where leaks are, i can't catch everything and water is still seeping onto the carpet. the leak has gotten worse 'cause the entire corner on the ceiling is basically leaking, there's a bubble in the ceiling where there wasn't before. I've tossed a good 1+ gallon of water out since i got home late this evening (in the last 4 hours).

To make matters worse, it's going to be storming for at least the next 3 days and several days in the next week.

Okay, so my questions are:

1. Should I call the HOA manager first thing this morning to report this as an emergency?? Will she be able to do something about it??

2. HOA is reponsible for fixing the leak since it's related to the exterior of the building. But if they don't fix the leak quickly enough which results in water damage to my personal property, the carpet, and ceiling, with possible development into a mold issue in the ceiling and carpet. Who's officially responsible for paying for the replacement of my personal property, carpet, and ceiling?


I need some input 'cause it's getting pretty bad in here!!!!

since you reported the incident earlier and nothing was done then you should be covered. Report it as an emergency and i suggest you do it in person (does the manager live on teh property?) i find that the requests i make arent done in a timely fashon unless i talk to them in person and "get in there face" so to speak....
Move everything away from the area that is effected to cover youreself further.
You could throw this in their face to get their butts lit: "my apartment is becoming not livabel due to the situation with water and potential mold, which is illegal!"
in californai they cant rent you an apartment or living space unless it is in "livable condition" and if they persist in this then you could take them to court over it (im not an expert on these things by any means, but a friend of mine went through the same situation)
good luck

I don't have any advice for you, I just wanted to say sorry that you're having this problem! I hope it gets fixed soon.

orinskye thanks for the suggestions. i live in a condo tho, which means i own the place. it's not a rental. but since i'm on the 10th floor of a highrise, i can't even begin to figure out who to call to fix a roof leak myself! i've walked personally to the HOA office to report the issues both times and they sent building maintenance up to my condo to evaluate the problem. i'm just pissed that they're taking their sweet time 'cause there was a few dry days between the first time i reported and the second time i reported and nothing was done!!!!

amandag thanks, i hope it gets fixed soon! otherwise i'm gonna need a new swimsuit to get around!

I'm in Canada so things maybe different.

My father before he passed was managing the condo where he lived and owned a suite. Whenever there was leaks or water damage from the building the condo insurance was responsible for all repairs including, carpet replacement, cleaning, ceiling repairs.....

Even in many of the cases where the tenant was at fault the condo insurance covered their repairs.... My dad would get angry at some tenants that would be careless and then have no cost or penalty to them as the condo fees would go up for everyone as the insurance would get higher. He always said he would flood his place to have it all replaced brand new at not cost to him. Free remodeling. He never did as he was a honest and good man. :)

In your case as it is clearly not your fault and they were notified and did nothing, any costs and repairs should be payed by the condo insurance. As well as a hotel if it is not safe for you to live there. I would call them again, I think its an emergency. Or call the state that deals with unlivable conditions to make them move faster to solve this.

All the best and keep dry. :)

:yeahthat:
i think it is the same as california..... regardless of wether you rent or own, the condo building is their responsibility to keep up and you have doen youre part in notifying, the carpets and everything that have been damaged should be replaced at no cost to you, maybe only a mild inconvienience of having to get the places carpet redone