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WATER:
THE CURSE OF CONDOS?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
August 17, 2012
Without
water none of us could exist. The health department will shut
down (red-tag) a condo if there is no water supply. But on the
other hand, water causes as well a lot of chaos and litigation
in condominium associations.
Water
damage is a very prominent issue in numerous litigations. On a
daily basis there are board members and unit owners who want to
know: Who pays for water damage and what damage is part of the
association property and what is the responsibility of the unit
owner? Rule of thumb: It’s not a matter of who caused the
damage – negligence is often very difficult to prove –
it’s a matter of what needs to be repaired or replaced.
That’s
why unit owners should carry HO6 insurance. The insurer will not
only pay for any repairs or replacement of carpet, wallpaper
and/or furniture. The insurer will as well help the unit owner
to figure out who is responsible for fixing the damages to
walls, floors, etc.
Water
damage causes mold – if not taken care of properly. Removing
mold can often be a lot more expensive than the repair of a
leaky roof or a wet wall. Make no mistake: Delaying needed
repairs can get very costly! So can repairing the walls and
insulation before fixing the leak.
Water
bills can cost a lot of headaches to board members and unit
owners alike. Mostly older buildings don’t have separate water
meters – every unit owner pays the same for water, included in
the monthly dues -- no matter how high the consumption of the
unit really is. A family with three kids might pay the same as a
single person living in a same-sized unit. To me, that plainly
makes no sense, especially not in a time when water in
Florida
is scarce and we have all kinds of water use restrictions –
from watering the lawns to washing the cars.
Let’s
make no mistake: Not having separate water meters is an open
invitation for waste of water. Why shouldn’t I let the water
run in the shower for a long time, even if I make a lengthy
telephone call in between? Why shouldn’t I rinse and wash
dishes under running water? Why shouldn’t I fill the bathtub
up to the brim, even if I could take a nice bath in a
half-filled bathtub? Why should I set the washer on save-water
mode – if I don’t have to pay extra for the wasted water?
Believe me, owners would think twice if they had to pay for the
water they actually use. Separate water meters seriously reduce
water consumption – and water bills.
But
if you think that
Florida
statutes would make it easy for board members/owners to get
separate water meters installed in the building in order to
conserve one of
Florida
’s most precious resources, you are totally mistaken. The
decision to have separate water meters installed for each unit
– if that is possible at all because of the layout of the
water pipes – requires the vote of the association members to
make these changes. And you can be pretty sure that the
water-wasters and the big families will vote against it. They
like the status quo, because they know that their neighbors will
pay for some part of their water bill if this amendment
doesn’t pass.
In
recent years many European countries passed laws requiring
apartment buildings to install separate water meters – if they
were not already in place.
Shouldn’t
Florida
follow suit? Conserving water should be one of our priorities
– and to stop our government agencies from selling our water
to companies in order to fill their coffers! It makes no sense
to know that water restrictions destroy your lawn, while some
company is making great profits from water you are not allowed
to use for your private purposes!
Does
GREED win over GREEN
– as usual?
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