Exclusive Use Areas in Your HOA and COA
Condominium Associates, with the help of HOAResources.com, helps answer some of the most common "exclusive use" questions about an HOA or COA.
If a club in the homeowners association wants a locked storage space, is it considered exclusive use?
Exclusive use common area is defined by Civil Code Section 4145 as a portion of the standard site dedicated by the Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) to the use of a single owner or group of owners. So the club storage space, unless mentioned in the CC&Rs, would ordinarily not be considered exclusive use but is a common area allocated by board permission.
I have a problem with my HOA. I am not sure who pays for plumbing backing up due to a rusty pipe outside my unit in the front. The pipe rusted out and backed up into my unit. The HOA says it's my responsibility because the line is "exclusively" in my unit. Therefore, I have to replace the pipe and fix my flooring at my expense.
Do the CC&Rs of your HOA designate pipes, which only serve your unit to be "exclusive use common area?" Per the Dover Village v. Jennison appellate decision of 2010, unless the CC&Rs say otherwise, the pipes outside a unit are not considered exclusive use common area.
Even if the common areas are considered exclusive use, do the CC&Rs specifically say that repair of the pipes is your responsibility? Civil Code 4775(a)(3) states that, unless the CC&R's say otherwise, exclusive use common areas are to be repaired by the HOA and maintained by the homeowner.
In townhouse-style condominiums, in which much of the plumbing separately serves individual units, associations sometimes amend the CC&Rs to allocate to the member the repair of pipes serving only the member's unit. Still, such an amendment will require a membership vote to approve it.
A resident was permitted to enclose an area and convert it to a storage room attached to his unit. While making the changes, he punched a hole through the adjoining wall. He did this so the room could be accessed from the unit and converted it to a rental apartment. However, these actions did not get approval.
Can a member take an exclusive use area and make it part of their separate interest? The city never permitted the room. Can a board approve this attaching of exclusive use common area to the unit without membership approval?
Any time a homeowner takes over a common area and converts it to exclusive use, Civil Code Section 4600 requires the approval of 67 percent of all members unless an exemption applies. Another troubling aspect of this is the homeowner's attempted conversion of the space to add to the condominium unit. City and HOA compliance issues are involved here.
Even if the city and HOA members approved this modification, the homeowner should sign a written agreement, acknowledging that the extra area is not the owner's property. To legally add the extra space to the unit would require amending the condominium plan, which is impossible as a practical matter. The HOA might refuse to discuss the issue because counsel is working on it, and such issues are ordinarily confidential.
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Have more questions concerning "exclusive use"? Don't hesitate to reach out to Condominium Associates. We are here to assist you!
