Tenant outraged after HOA's negligence causes extreme damage to home: 'What should I do?'

HOAs have a notorious reputation of often being more burdensome than helpful, and that's certainly the case for one tenant struggling to deal with a messy problem.

In the r/legaladvice subreddit, the frustrated renter asked for help figuring out what to do after their condo was flooded by " negligence due to sewage backup."

"It's been an entire month of constant arguing and trying to get a hold of them," they said, explaining they're worried about water damage to their unit.

"What should I do? I checked the CC&Rs and [the] only thing written is common elements excludes units by HOA but there's nothing related to HOA negligence or water intrusion/flooding damage," they added.

HOAs across the country have been caught causing similar damages, dragging out repair proceedings, or doing subpar work requiring multiple expensive and time-consuming fixes. One condo renter waited over two years for their HOA to pay for mold remediation. Another person, not unlike the OP, was stuck paying the bill for storm flooding, caused in part by the HOA's negligence.

These kinds of red tape messes, and occasionally petty retaliations, cost homeowners and renters time, money, and brain power, not to mention posing safety risks in extreme cases. Their actions can also cause environmental damage, like many HOAs' insistence on maintaining perfectly green lawns during droughts, an expensive and wasteful demand.

There are ways to work with and within your HOA to change rules, like joining the board or checking their rules against state laws (some have made rules that contradict state law!).

While not full legal experts, the Redditors in the comments of the OP's post did their best to offer their advice.

"Again, I'm NAL [not a lawyer] but I've sent my claim to the HOA and told them to file a claim with their insurer to cover the damages. If they refuse you'll need a lawyer to file suit," one person who had a similar experience said.

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