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I previously posted this in the Chicago forum but I think this is more suitable...
Ok looking for some help here.
There was a smell of gas and someone in my 11 unit condo called the FD. My renters were not home at the time and the firemen had to do a forced entry, in turn damaging my rental unit lock, frame, and door.
Who is responsible in covering the damages? I don't think it would be the FD as they were just doing their due diligence in preventing a catastrophe. I tried asking my association, and they said it's my responsibility. Would this be covered under a Master association policy or my own policy. I believe doors are a limited common element. In the voicemail my building manager left me, he said it's best I cover the expenses on my own. He said the association's policy could cover it but it would fall under my ledger anyways so it's not worth it due to the delays that could occur..?
I do have insurance for the rental unit, but my deductible is 1k anyways so if I have to fix it, I think it would be cheaper not using them.
Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you in advance!!
Was it a stove burner left on by the tenants?
Was it a broken line that the gas company is responsible for?
Was it a worn fitting that needed replacing years ago that went ignored?
That might make a difference as to who might be responsible for the FD having to force entry.
As for who is ultimately responsible for the damage, consult your attorney. Since we don't have your insurance and condo documents, nobody can provide any advice regarding your relationship with the condo. However, from a landlord tenant perspective, you are 100% responsible for fixing the door to make the rental habitable for your tenant and to prevent the tenant from suing you in court for a breech of the lease. Who pays is between your and the condo; you tenant (and the law) will expect you to take care of this asap.
The owner/landlord is responsible for making the residence safe and repairing this damage. I can't even fathom why you would think your tenants could be held responsible for paying.
Usually with a limited common element it is the responsibility of the owner to replace it. However, out of the 30 condo associations I manage not a single one considers the door and windows to be LCE and instead they are part of the unit bounderies.
Look in your Declaration/Covenants to see what they say, sometimes it's in the bylaws but typically it's in the Declaration of Condominium under definitions right in the beginning. My money is on it being yours though for either case.
When you do the repairs make sure that you double check with your BOD to make sure the door is the correct color and type so you don't have to do it twice!
Depending on the cause of rhe gas smell you might be able to get the tenant to contribute or pay for the replacement. Does your hoa manager have a key to your unit? We typically keep keys for all the doors in our condos so in the even of an emergency we can get in without breaking the doors down (granted this would depend on your management company offering this).
There are actually some places where, as they say, the FD has bought many a front door. That might be the easiest one to cross off your list. Call the chief. He may be familiar with your condo buildings or just the area in general as far as saying, no, we never pay for the doors, the mgt takes care of that. Or whoever. That alone could be helpful.
You could ask your insurance agent. But sometimes even a call leaves a little ding.
DO check your condo info on what you're responsible for and what you're not. I know some are responsible for replacing doors and windows and some are not.
Your association said it's your responsibility. Yet, your building manager said the opposite. That your association insurance could cover it but it would fall low on his radar it seems and work on it would be slow.
I have friends who have met with the wrath of the COA or HOA mgt on what was considered a smaller repair. As opposed to a whole house flooded. These HOAs and COAs did not like to make claims against their insurance. I know some who were shocked to find out in their non-condo residence that they had to call the association manager to submit a claim. The homeowners couldn't do it themselves. And, when they asked this mgr he said no, he didn't think he'd submit that one. That got into a court battle.
They don't like those dings on their insurance rating.
You shouldn't need a new door right? They just busted out the wood on the frame section? A decent carpenter can fix that and reinforce the frame for around $200.00.
For what it would cost, I wouldn't want an insurance claim on my record. Just fix it and deduct it off your income taxes.
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