Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
‘I live in a single family home within a neighborhood that has 3 tracts, which together form an HOA. I am replacing my wood shake roof (that was starting to leak) with a composition tile roof. In my tract there are a mixture of wood shake roofs and various tile roofs (flat, round, red, grey, blue). There is one other composition roof within the HOA and on a street that is disassociated from the HOA (but is in my tract) there are mostly composition roofs. I took a sample in of my composition roof to the management company. They told me they would have the board look at it and contact me if there was a problem. I never heard from them. I called and emailed several times and expressed that I needed to go forth with replacing my roof because it was leaking. The homes on the streets surrounding my home have composition roofs, for the most part. In fact, my home was built so that it cannot bear the weight of a regular tile roof. I would have to buy very expensive tile that is light weight engineered for this situation; almost 3 times the expense of a composition roof. I did get my composition roof permitted by the city. Now, after I have had half the roof completed. The HOA is telling me they still have not reviewed my request (after one month) and that they may ask me to take it down. Can they do that?’Have you read the governing documents of your HOA? Those documents should have provisions covering important questions like how long the Board has to respond to a member’s request, what happens if they don’t respond in a timely fashion, and what, if any, provisions there are for emergency repairs that are required to be done faster than the board can respond.
Question: I can think of numerous arguments for why you should be allowed to finish your work and an equal number for why they may be able to stop it. Without reviewing the HOA documents, though, it’s just so much
guesswork.
Answer:
I suggest you approach the manager in a spirit of compromise and see if you can’t work out a reasonable solution to your situation. If they say or imply that you can’t put on the roof you want, ask politely to see the authority for their decision. Then review that authority with your own attorney before you decide whether to comply.
