What can you do when roaches overtake a vacant condo unit?

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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