Condominiums - Who Owns What?
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Like many urban dwellers who reside in the inner city, I live in a condominium. I also serve on my condominium's board of managers. At our last Board meeting, a discussion arose over who was responsible for paying for a broken window in one of the units. The window was broken by the tenant, but the general opinion was that the Board is responsible for the cost of windows. So we assumed that proper procedure would be to have the Board pay for it and charge it back to the tenant.
But was that assumption correct? How much of the unit does the unit owner own, and what constitutes "common property" (or "common elements") of the condominium? In other words, who pays for an element like a window if it needs to be replaced or repaired?
Some items are designated as "exclusive use common property". These typically include things like patios and balconies which are attached or annexed to a specific unit and are used exclusively by the occupants of that unit. In some condominiums, parking spaces also fall under this designation, but only if they do not have a separate title deed. Parking spaces with separate titles are owned by the unit owner.
That having been said, however, it's not always the case. In some condominiums, patios and terraces are owned by the unit owner. How do you know whether you own your patio, balcony, terrace and / or garden? To answer that, you need to look at the declaration or condo plan that was filed by the developer to establish the condominium. This document sets the boundaries for each unit and delineates which areas constitute the common property owned by the condo corporation.
So back to our original question - who owns the windows? That's a bit more complicated. Unit owners essentially own the inside surface of the walls, doors and windows, and the rest is common property. Basically, anything that is WITHIN the unit is owned by the unit owner. All doors and windows of a condominium unit that are located on the EXTERIOR walls of the unit are part of the common property unless the Plan or Declaration specifically states otherwise. And if they're part of the common property, that means the condminium corporation is responsible for repairs and maintenance. So we've established that if the windows are designated as common property in the Declaration or Plan, the corporation is responsible for replacing the broken window. However, because the damage in this case was caused by a tenant, the corporation can require the unit owner to pay for the damages, because the unit owner is responsible for ensuring that the tenant does not damage the common property. The unit owner can then seek to recover the costs from the tenant.