Condo Adviser: Who is responsible for leaks caused by an air-conditioning system serving a single unit?
Q. I am on the board of a midsize condominium building and a top floor unit has two leaks in the ceiling. It has been determined that the cause of the leaks is condensation around air-conditioning ducts due to improperly insulated duct work relating to the unit’s air-conditioning system. Each unit has its own air-conditioning system on the roof. Is the repair cost a unit owner or association responsibility?
A. An HVAC system that exclusively serves a single unit is deemed a limited common element. The determinative factor as to who bears the cost for maintaining, repairing or replacing a limited common element is found in the condominium declaration.
Most condominium declarations expressly state that a unit owner is responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the limited common elements serving their units. Additionally, such provisions also customarily state that the board of directors may perform the required maintenance, repair and replacement and assess the costs back to the unit owner.
Q. I own a unit in a large condominium association. The owners of the unit above me smoke profusely and the odor transmits into our unit. The management company told me there is nothing they can do about smoke transmission. Is that true?
A. Smoke transmission between units occurs on occasion in condominium associations. Some condominium associations have chosen to amend their declaration or bylaws to prohibit smoking in units and appurtenant limited common elements such as balconies, which requires unit owner approval. Even if a condominium association does not have a smoking prohibition amendment, condominium bylaws contain a prohibition against noxious or offensive activities that occur in a unit that are disruptive to other unit owners.
Smoke transmission that leaves the boundaries of the unit may be deemed by the board of directors to be a noxious and offensive activity, no different from unreasonably loud music or loud parties at unreasonable hours of the night.
If a unit owner smokes in their unit, they have the responsibility to ensure that their smoke and its odor does not emanate out of the boundaries of their unit into other units, otherwise, that unit owner may be subject to board levied fines and/or injunction lawsuit.
Q. I live in a condominium building that was developed in the 1980s. As part of an improvements project to building mechanical systems, the board retained an architect to create mechanical plans for the building. A non-board member somehow obtained a copy of the mechanical plans and shared the information with another unit owner who is not a board member. Given that the plans contain information about the boundaries of my unit, I feel like an invasion of my privacy occurred. Is there anything improper here?
A. Mechanical plans for a building are not confidential information. In fact, every condominium declaration contains a survey that specifically outlines the boundaries of every unit in the association, including horizontal and vertical measurements. Additionally, any unit owner can make a Freedom of Information Act request to most municipalities for a copy of construction plans and specifications submitted to the municipality for the construction of the building.
Got a question for the Condo Adviser? Email ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com.
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