HOA Maintenance requires organization and proactivity. The board of directors must ensure that strategies are in place to quickly respond to necessary repairs. While also conducting regular inspections and applying preventive maintenance to avoid any unexpected issues. This can be a difficult task, particularly when dealing with confused residents.
In this article, we will address whose responsibility it is to perform and cover maintenance management. We also go through three major maintenance risks and how to avoid them. Lastly, we share some best practices that you can easily apply in your community.
Table of Content
- What is HOA Maintenance?
- HOA Maintenance Responsibilities
- Who Pays for Maintenance and Damages?
- The Three Major Maintenance Risks
- How to Mitigate Risks With a Digital Tool
- Best Practices for HOA Maintenance
- FAQ
- Wrapping Up
What is HOA Maintenance?
To put it simply, HOA maintenance is a set of activities that are meant to preserve an HOA’s common areas, like amenities, landscaping, and sidewalks. It may also include other areas, depending on your HOA. Overall, it involves preventing damage, inspecting, assessing, repairing, and maintaining these areas. HOA maintenance plays a crucial role in the well-being of a community, as it can significantly enhance residents’ satisfaction and even increase property value.
HOA Maintenance Responsibilities
If you have any doubts about who is responsible for what, regarding HOA maintenance, the declaration of covenants (CC&Rs) will likely help clarify them. It’s the best place to find out the maintenance responsibilities of the HOA/Board and the homeowners.
Association/Board Responsibilities
Usually, it’s the association’s responsibility to handle maintenance activities for communal spaces. The board must:
- Communicate the rules to residents to prevent damage;
- Conduct regular inspections and take pictures;
- Work hand-in-hand with vendors and contractors;
- Oversee budgets, handle fees and make payments.
Homeowner Responsibilities
Usually, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to upkeep their property. When you decide to buy a property in a community association, you agree to the standards laid out in the CC&Rs. This means you’re legally bound to follow some maintenance and aesthetic rules for your house and lot. For instance, you’re required to:
Who Pays for Maintenance and Damages?
Who covers the maintenance of common areas?
Residents pay for the maintenance of common areas through their HOA dues. A homeowner association fee is typically paid monthly by homeowners to the HOA. In some communities, it can be paid quarterly or even yearly. These allowances are allocated to a fund that the board uses to pay for maintenance services. Occasionally, the board may struggle to manage the budget or incur major, unbudgeted maintenance costs. In such cases, the reserve funds may not be sufficient to cover the necessary repairs. Board members then need to make an assessment and require residents to pay extra fees.
Who covers the damage to common areas?
This highly depends on whose at fault for the damage. If a resident caused damage to an amenity, for example, then the board would pay for the expenses and bill the resident for reimbursement.
If the issue is due to normal wear and tear, the board will cover the cost. They create a budget every year that includes maintenance costs.
To help with a more organized financial process, download our Free Budget Calculator below. Be able to:
- Categorize expenses as fixed, variable, or occasional;
- Visualize your finances with easy-to-read pie charts;
- Plan for major repairs and reserve items;
- Build transparency and trust with your community.
Who covers the damage to a home lot?
In general, the homeowner is the one to pay for repairs in their home, unless the damage was caused due to negligence of the association. In that case, the homeowner can either pay for it or bill the association for reimbursement. In some cases, the association pays directly.
It’s essential to note that this information may vary slightly depending on your HOA’s governing documents, which is why it’s important to read them and contact an attorney if there is any confusion about their content.
The Three Major Maintenance Risks
Reactive Maintenance
There are several key differences between preventive and reactive maintenance, which we’ll explore further in the article. Further in the article, we’ll explain why we recommend being preventive. But here, we are warning you about the risks of being reactive.
Reactive maintenance can be summarized by the common saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
Some HOAs prefer not to do any repairs until something is broken, mainly because they want to preserve the reserve funds and avoid assessments. So they choose not to invest in inspections and repairs. This style of maintenance can also be the result of poor board management.
Leading a community can be overwhelming, and some preventative chores may be overlooked or even forgotten. Either way, reactive maintenance can have severe consequences for your community.
Inadequate upkeep can cause injuries
It’s everyone’s role to keep the community a safe place. But it’s also true that residents rely on the board of directors to ensure a secure environment. Inadequate maintenance can lead to accidents or even health issues. Something as simple as forgetting to change a light bulb in the neighborhood may result in a resident falling and getting hurt. Untrimmed trees can also represent a big threat. They can fall onto a house, causing property damage and potentially injuring someone living there.
Being negligent when it comes to your HOA’s upkeep is a huge risk. Knowing this, everyone should be proactive. The board can do that through regular inspections. They can do inspections themselves and with external contractors.
High Maintenance Costs and HOA Fees
Like we mentioned above, residents pay for maintenance costs through their dues. No residents enjoy paying extra fees. It’s also not well-received when dues increase from one year to another. As a board member, it’s crucial to manage the maintenance budget as efficiently as possible to avoid any increases.
But be careful. This should not lead you to neglect maintenance. Some boards avoid conducting preventive checks and repairs for various reasons, such as insufficient reserve funds or to avoid levying a special assessment for repairs. By doing the latter, they think they are contributing to a happy community. The truth is, they are building up costs that will need to be paid at an unpredictable moment.
How to Mitigate Risks With a Digital Tool
Again, it’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure the community is safe and enjoyable for all. This is why residents should notify the board whenever they notice something that needs repair. Typically, maintenance or service requests can be submitted by letter or email. However, this is an outdated process that has revealed numerous flaws. Residents may be too busy or too lazy to send a formal letter or email. They may not even know whom to send it to. On the other side, the board often misses these requests or simply forgets about them.
As a modern alternative, some communities have started using HOA software that handles maintenance requests, such as Neigbrs by Vinteum. Residents can log in to the portal and add a maintenance request in just a few clicks. These requests are automatically routed to board members. Additionally, all demands are centralized in one location, featuring a clean, calendar-based layout with a four-color scheme and two different viewing options. That’s a great way to ensure all requests are received, stored, and addressed. It also helps to keep a record that new board members can easily access. Read more about this feature here.
Best Practices for HOA Maintenance
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is the opposite of reactive maintenance. It is all about strategy and planning. It consists of performing regular checks and repairs to avoid any issues from arising. Being proactive is the foundation of this style of maintenance.
The benefits of proceeding this way are:
- It reduces the likelihood of elements breaking down or failing;
- It increases the lifetime of certain equipment;
- It can reduce your maintenance expenses in the long run.
Here are two examples of preventative maintenance:
Emergency Preparedness Plan
Unfortunately, emergencies and disasters can happen at any moment. When they do occur, they typically leave damage in their wake. If the board doesn’t plan for those, then the consequences are likely to be high. It’s the role of community leaders to foresee, prepare and protect their community. To accomplish this, an HOA Emergency Preparedness Plan is essential for guiding residents and board members during unpredictable events.
A good plan should include:
- List of contractors and vendors to contact in case of emergency;
- Copies of insurance policies;
- Images of your last inspection to use as proof for your insurance company;
- A practiced evacuation plan.
Seasonal Maintenance Check
Each season requires a different type of care. In autumn, tree leaves fall, and sidewalks need to be cleaned more frequently. Your community may also require snow removal services during winter. Spring is a good time to power clean some areas after a long fall and winter. Summer has favorable weather and daylight; undertaking construction or renovations during that period can be a good idea. With a summer checklist, you can identify key activities to accomplish during this season. Performing periodic inspections and maintenance tasks around the seasons can make things easier in your community.
FAQ
What is the meaning of grounds maintenance?
The term ‘’grounds maintenance’’ refers to the multiple tasks undertaken for the constant care and upkeep of outdoor areas, like gardens, parks and commercial or residential landscapes.
The purpose of grounds maintenance is to preserve the property’s value and usability, ensuring the area is clean, functional, safe, and visually appealing.
This process encompasses various activities, including pruning, landscaping, and mowing.
What is a grounds maintenance worker’s job?
A grounds maintenance worker’s job is to provide a pleasant outdoor environment through the ongoing care of the grounds of urban spaces, houses and parks.
They can work for a grounds maintenance team, serving commercial customers, or for the local businesses and authorities.
What are the 4 types of maintenance?
There are four categories of maintenance.
Preventive maintenance: Scheduled regularly and periodically to prevent future damage.
Corrective maintenance: Scheduled reactively in response to a problem that arises.
Predetermined maintenance: Scheduled according to the manufacturer’s recommendations or regulations.
Condition-based maintenance: Scheduled when a pre-determined condition or deviation from normal is detected.
Wrapping Up
Regular maintenance activities are essential to preserving your HOA’s well-being. The board of directors is, in general, responsible for common areas. Homeowners have a responsibility to maintain and preserve their premises. However, everyone should remain vigilant and notify the board if they detect any flaws. This can help avoid hazards. Applying preventive maintenance and using a digital tool like Neigbrs is the most efficient way to handle maintenance operations.
To learn more about how to manage an HOA efficiently, schedule a free demo today and see how Neigbrs can be your partner on the path to success.
