Are Floor Joists A Common Element In A Condo

Basically your home is the area extending from the top of the concrete floor in the basement to the.

Are floor joists a common element in a condo. Is the slab still considered part of common area. As a practitioner for many years in the area of association law i have been aware of a long standing difference of opinion among association attorneys as to the obligation of a condominium association to pay for damages caused to the common elements ce limited common elements lce and to the units and personal property of owners by the failure of the ce. The boundaries of the unit are described in schedule c of the declaration and as part of section iv. Common elements are those parts of a condo complex that belong to all owners.

It is important to note that in some cases common elements are for the exclusive use of a particular unit owner. In a condo the roof and building itself belong to all the owners as a common element. When time comes to replace features that are common elements the reserve fund can be used. The first basic division in a condominium is between common elements and units.

With a few exceptions they constitute everything except the units in which people live. They hired a structural engineer who recommended reinforcing the floor joists and left it to the board whether the floor joists should first be jacked up before being reinforced. Tom sue s story the move from their country estate north of toronto to a brand new 1 bedroom plus den condo in a sparkling building near toronto s waterfront was an exciting and busy time for susan and tom not their. Examples of common elements include the front lobby exercise facilities and outside gardens.

It s called exclusive use common element and it causes much confusion some challenges and in some cases the confusion results in extra costs for the suite owner. Please click on issues specific to townhouses for information sent by readers. Townhouses in particular show a great deal of variation in what is fully owned or is a common element at times with costly results. Common elements refers to all property except the units.

Over a year ago i asked the condo board to fix this problem. I am in the lower level condo and my floor sits right above the slab. In my condo docs it says common elements are those portions of the common elements used by all of the unit owners in general including slabs and roof. Common elements consist of those things that are not described and registered as a condominium unit.

Corridors garbage rooms lobbies locker areas garages technical rooms the roof grounds walkways are all common elements. People often get mixed up on hoa and condo regime issues and this issue normally applies in a condo regime says jeff vinzani an attorney in charleston s c who represents associations. It is the declaration that defines the unit owner s duty regarding repairing and replacing limited common elements in each condominium.