In prior weblog posts, I’ve mentioned Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota regulation because it pertains to the allocation of duty for property insurance coverage protection between unit house owners and condominium associations. On this weblog publish, I’ll discover comparable legal guidelines in Indiana.
In Indiana, the condominium affiliation’s duty for this protection is defined in Indiana Code § 32-25-8-9 (2024) Sec. 9(a).
Sec. 9. (a) The co-owners, by the affiliation of co-owners, shall buy:
(1) a grasp casualty coverage, payable as a part of the frequent bills, affording hearth and prolonged protection in an quantity consonant with the total substitute worth of the development that in entire or partially contains the frequent areas and amenities; and….
Whereas Sec. 9(b) requires condominium associations to additionally buy a grasp legal responsibility coverage, Sec. 9(a) is related for our functions as a result of it requires the acquisition of a grasp casualty coverage. In brief, what Sec. 9(a) says is that the grasp casualty coverage, which the condominium affiliation is required to buy, should present hearth and extended-coverage property insurance coverage for all frequent areas, amenities, and any enhancements which can be legally outlined as frequent parts. The protection should be for the total substitute worth and be a part of the frequent bills.
Indiana Code § 32-25-2-4 Sec. 4 defines what qualifies as “frequent areas and amenities.”
Sec. 4. ‘Frequent areas and amenities’, except in any other case offered within the declaration or lawful amendments to the declaration, means: ….
Necessary to notice is that whereas the statute lists all objects that qualify beneath the statute as “frequent areas and amenities,” the language, except in any other case offered within the declaration or lawful amendments to the declaration, implies that the condominium affiliation declarations have the ultimate say in what qualifies.
As well as, Indiana Code § 32-25-2-15 Sec. 15 defines what qualifies as “restricted frequent areas and amenities”.
Sec. 15. ‘Restricted frequent areas and amenities’ means the frequent areas and amenities designated within the declaration as reserved to be used of:
(1) a sure condominium unit; or
(2) sure condominium models;
to the exclusion of the opposite condominium models.
In a single Indiana Courtroom of Appeals case, Ferrell v. Dunescape Seashore Membership Condominium, Part I, Inc., 1 the Plaintiff, Ferrell, argued that there was a real difficulty of fabric reality as as to whether a decorative grille hooked up to the surface floor of the condominium constructing and related to her furnace room was the unique duty of the Defendant, Dunescape Seashore Membership Condominiums Part I, Inc., to switch. The courtroom, after reviewing Dunescapes’ declarations, decided that the grille was the Defendant’s sole duty to keep up as a restricted frequent space fixture. Importantly, the courtroom regarded on to the condominium affiliation’s declarations for definitions and duty for the upkeep of the grille.
As within the different States of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, as mentioned in my earlier weblog posts, the Indiana Code provides important deference to condominium associations in defining phrases of their declarations. See Illinois Apartment Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay or is it Coming Out of your Pocket, Michigan Apartment Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay, or are you Caught with the Invoice?, Wisconsin Apartment Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay, or is that Roof Leak On You?, and Minnesota Apartment Restore Dilemma: Who Pays for the Pipes?
As in different States, in Indiana you will need to perceive the regulation and the way duties are allotted in condominium governing paperwork.
1 Ferrell v. Dunescape Seashore Membership Condominiums Part I, Inc., 751 NE second 702 (Ind. App 2001).