Condo Repair and Maintenance in condominiums is something you probably won't ever think of until you have damage to your unit. But if you do, you will quickly be sucked in to the confusing world of condominium repair and maintenance.

Maintenance is pretty straightforward. There is a portion of the condominium declaration (Schedule C) that describes the boundaries of your unit. If a component falls within these boundaries, it is most likely yours to maintain. It gets tricky when it comes to items that may not be in the unit, but that service the unit exclusively. A good place to look would be the repair and maintenance section of the declaration. This can usually clear up some of the trickier details.

Condo repair is where it gets confusing. Repair after damage is when something damages a part of the unit, and needs to be repaired. As a rule of thumb, if the damage is in your unit, it is the responsibility of your own home insurance, and if it is in the common areas, it is the responsibility of the condominium's insurance. What makes this confusing is the existance of a portion of the unit that the condominium is responsible for covering called the "Standard Unit". To make things worse, this portion is not always defined in each building. Normally it is the "original" unit, as it was built by the developer, but not always. So, for example, if your original carpeted floor was damaged, the building may pay for the repairs. But if you upgrade to hardwood, you would now be responsible for the damage. This is something that the government is looking to simplify.