COURT INVALIDATES SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FOR COMMON AREA REPAIRS THAT WAS NOT LEVIED ON ALL OWNERS EQUALLY

The Background

This condominium community had two buildings, one with 10 units and one with 12. A single homeowner owned a unit in each building. Monthly dues were 115 dollars per unit, and the homeowner had not paid assessments going back several years.

In 2018, the city shut down one of the buildings due to a major electrical problem. Residents could not live there until repairs were completed. The association did not have enough money to handle the repairs right away, so it issued a special assessment. However, that assessment was charged only to the owners in the building that was closed. The homeowner who owned one of those units was assessed roughly 4,980 dollars and did not pay that amount either.

Repairs eventually took place, but it took years to complete everything.

The Lawsuit

The association sued the homeowner to recover the unpaid monthly dues and the special assessment. The homeowner responded by filing a claim of their own, arguing that they lost rental income while the unit was uninhabitable and that the association should have repaired the building sooner.

The case eventually reached the Court of Appeals.

What the Court Decided

The outcome was: