Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Daniel
Vasquez
Published April 22, 2009
Few things in community
association living will bug or endanger you as much as a bad neighbor.
Take the case of the elderly owner of a Hollywood condo who for almost 10
years has been paying for an unoccupied unit that has become filled with
cockroaches.
"She keeps the unit as a shrine to her late husband and refuses to
sell it. She is up-to-date on her maintenance payments. The problem is
that the owner is a compulsive hoarder and the unit is littered with
boxes, bags and junk to the ceiling in every room, which is a nesting
place for roaches and other pests," said Marilyn Rizzo, a director at
the Crystal Court Condominium Association (Building 11). "They have
invaded the walls and have gained entrance into the other apartments
adjoining and below. We had to go in and bomb the place for roaches at
least three or four times during the last three years and at least 1,000
roaches came flying out of the unit and littered the sidewalks all around
the building."
Several attempts to reach the owner, who lives in New Jersey, were not
successful.
Rizzo said the unit has
not been occupied for at least nine years with the exception of a two-week
visit by the owner five years ago.
On two occasions, flooding from a broken water heater and toilet damaged
the rugs, furniture, boxes and bags and caused considerable damage to the
walls, ceilings and furniture in the unit below, board members say.
They suspect flooding is causing a health hazard due to the possibility of
mold growing in the walls over the years and they believe the unit may be
a fire hazard.
To its credit, the association has tried to be communicative and patient
with the owner.
"We contacted the owner three years ago and asked her to clean up the
mess or we would be happy to arrange to have someone do it for her at her
expense if she could not come down," Rizzo said. "She said she
would take care of it. She never came and the mess is still with us."
A couple of months ago, when the toilet broke and caused a flood in her
unit and the one below, her toilet was removed and the water turned off.
"We tried to call her to no avail," Rizzo said. "We did not
know if she was still living or not so we called the police in the town
where she lives and they found out she was still living in her house
there. She finally called and told us she would have someone take care of
the damage to her apartment and the unit below. So far we have not heard a
word from her."
Rizzo said a certified-letter was sent recently to the owner stating that
if the association did not hear from her in five days, it would seek legal
advice. "But going to a lawyer these days to seek legal advice is
very expensive," Rizzo said.
Fortunately, Florida law provides its own remedies, said Bill Raphan, a
South Florida supervisor for the Department of Business and Professional
Regulation, which oversees community associations. He said his office is
often contacted about similar problems.
Raphan recommends looking at statute 718.106 (3), which says: A unit owner
is entitled to the exclusive possession of his or her unit, subject to the
provisions of statute 718.111(5). That statute says the association has
the irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours, when
necessary for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of any common
elements or as necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to a
unit or units.
"It would appear that the neglect and lack of maintenance in this
unit is causing damage to the common element and other units," Raphan
said. "The association has the right to enter that unit, make the
necessary repairs, and charge the expenses to the unit owner, including
the cost of a locksmith."
The bottom line: If something is damaging the common element or other
units, such as water, mold, vermin, etc., the association has the
responsibility to access the unit and repair it, Raphan said.
Daniel
Vasquez can be reached at:
[email protected]
or at 954-356-4558 (Broward) or 561-243-6686 (Palm
Beach County). His condo column runs every Wednesday in the Local
section and at www.sunsentinel.com/condos.
You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at www.sunsentinel.com/vasquez
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