Condominiums and HOAs

Who owns which pipe

The association's declaration usually settles it, by saying which pipe is a common element and which belongs to a unit. A branch serving one unit may be that owner's. The line that carries every unit to the street is usually common. Read the declaration, or ask the association's attorney, before anyone signs a contract.

What the board needs before it votes

• The camera video of the shared line, with distances.
• A written scope: where the work starts and ends, which branch lines are reopened, and how the ground is put back.
• The time the drains will be out of use, so owners can be told.
• The warranty in writing. The company that answers this number gives one year on parts and labor, from the day of install.

Why lining suits a shared line

It works through a cleanout, so the landscaping, the walks and the parking that every owner paid for stay as they are. Owners stay in their units and only have to stop running water while the crew works and the liner cures. Each unit's branch is reopened from inside.

If the camera shows a collapse or a sag, that section is dug up and replaced first.

City lateral programs

Clayton's program covers condominiums along with houses, townhouses and small buildings. Settle who applies, the association or an owner, before anyone calls a contractor. What other cities' programs say.

Who does the work

The company that answers this number has lined sewer lines under occupied condominium buildings.

Questions owners ask

Who pays to repair a condominium's sewer line?

The association's declaration usually decides, by saying which pipe is a common element and which belongs to a unit. Read it, or ask the association's attorney, before anyone signs a contract.