In prior weblog posts, I’ve mentioned Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota legislation because it pertains to the allocation of accountability for property insurance coverage protection between unit house owners and condominium associations. On this weblog submit, I’ll discover comparable legal guidelines in Indiana.
In Indiana, the condominium affiliation’s accountability 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 alternative worth of the development that in complete or partly includes the frequent areas and services; 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, services, and any enhancements which can be legally outlined as frequent components. The protection have to be for the total alternative worth and be a part of the frequent bills.
Indiana Code § 32-25-2-4 Sec. 4 defines what qualifies as “frequent areas and services.”
Sec. 4. ‘Widespread areas and services’, until in any other case offered within the declaration or lawful amendments to the declaration, means: ….
Vital to notice is that whereas the statute lists all gadgets that qualify beneath the statute as “frequent areas and services,” the language, until 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 services”.
Sec. 15. ‘Restricted frequent areas and services’ means the frequent areas and services 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, Section I, Inc., 1 the Plaintiff, Ferrell, argued that there was a real difficulty of fabric reality as as to if a decorative grille hooked up to the skin floor of the condominium constructing and related to her furnace room was the unique accountability of the Defendant, Dunescape Seashore Membership Condominiums Section I, Inc., to interchange. The court docket, after reviewing Dunescapes’ declarations, decided that the grille was the Defendant’s sole accountability to take care of as a restricted frequent space fixture. Importantly, the court docket appeared on to the condominium affiliation’s declarations for definitions and accountability 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 vital deference to condominium associations in defining phrases of their declarations. See Illinois Condominium Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay or is it Coming Out of your Pocket, Michigan Condominium Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay, or are you Caught with the Invoice?, Wisconsin Condominium Restore Dilemma: Will the Affiliation Pay, or is that Roof Leak On You?, and Minnesota Condominium Restore Dilemma: Who Pays for the Pipes?
As in different States, in Indiana it is very important perceive the legislation and the way obligations are allotted in condominium governing paperwork.
1 Ferrell v. Dunescape Seashore Membership Condominiums Section I, Inc., 751 NE second 702 (Ind. App 2001).