Should Your Condominium Association Have A Maintenance Matrix?

Should Your Condominium Association Have A Maintenance Matrix?

Common complaints that co-owners have about the condominium’s master deed and bylaws are that they are poorly written, full of legalese, and are difficult to understand.  When it comes to the responsibilities of the condominium association and co-owners to maintain, repair, and replace the common elements and the unit, a maintenance matrix be helpful to clearly and simply identify whether the association or a co-owner is responsible for a given item.  Below are a number of reasons how a maintenance matrix can assist a condominium association, whether the co-owners or the board of directors, and common issues that arise with maintenance matrices.

How A Maintenance Matrix Can Be Helpful

1. 1. Identification. Most condominium associations want a maintenance matrix because they want a quick-reference guide to show whether the association or a co-owner is responsible for the common elements and other items.  Additionally, some common elements may have split responsibilities, where a co-owner is responsible for decoration and maintenance while the condominium association is responsible for repair and replacement.  A maintenance matrix can help co-owners and the board of directors alike quickly understand how the condominium documents allocate responsibility for a given common element.

1. 2. Clarity. Even when the condominium documents are clearly drafted, co-owners and the board of directors alike can find them difficult to understand.  And even when the master deed clearly identifies the responsibilities for maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements and other items, there may be later sections in the master deed and bylaws that affect the responsibilities.  By gathering all of the general responsibilities and identifying the provisions that may affect or shift the responsibilities, a maintenance matrix can provide clarity and guidance when there is a question of whether the condominium association or a co-owner is responsible for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of a given common element.

1. 3. Brevity. The condominium documents can often be upward of 50 pages with little to no white space.  Not exactly the easiest documents to read.  An effective maintenance matrix takes the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities from the various locations of the master deed and bylaws and condenses them into a matrix that is easy to read and often less than 10 pages.

Common Issues

1. 1. Making the Matrix a Wish List. In developing a maintenance matrix, condominium associations should keep in mind that the matrix should reflect the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities that are identified in the master deed and bylaws.  The maintenance matrix is not an opportunity to create a wish list by changing any responsibilities.  In order to change the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities, the master deed and bylaws will need to be amended.  Overall, the prime objective of a maintenance matrix is to accurately reflect the responsibilities of the master deed and bylaws.

1. 2. Relying on Allocation of Responsibility of the Past. Another common problem that is related to a wish list is relying on whether the condominium association or co-owners have historically been responsible for a given common element.  This can be problematic when past practices do not align with the responsibilities in the master deed.  The maintenance matrix should be drafted based on a review of the condominium documents and not relying on how responsibilities are normally allocated to ensure the maintenance matrix accurately states the various maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities.

1. 3. Treating the Maintenance Matrix as Gospel. An association’s maintenance matrix is intended to be a quick-reference guide for the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities identified in the master deed and bylaws; a maintenance matrix is not intended to replace or supersede those responsibilities.  An effective matrix will have cross-references to the relevant provision in the master deed or bylaws so that a co-owner or the board can review the underlying provision to ensure the statement of responsibility in the matrix aligns with the condominium documents.

1. 4. Not Having an Attorney Draft or Review the Maintenance Matrix. In an effort to reduce costs, the board of directors may decide to implement a maintenance matrix that they drafted.  When the maintenance matrix is completely accurate, this is not a problem.  But there may be times when a board unintentionally identifies a common element as the association’s responsibility when in fact the master deed identifies the common element as the co-owner’s responsibility, or vice versa.  Having an attorney review a board-drafted matrix, or initially draft the matrix, can reduce any unintentional mistakes in the matrix’s identification of maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities.  An attorney’s review can also ensure that all common elements and other items are listed in the maintenance matrix.

Does Your Condominium Association Need A Maintenance Matrix?

A maintenance matrix can be a useful tool for condominium associations to help clearly identify the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities for the various common elements.  Condominium associations who find their master deed and bylaws difficult or confusing to read and understand can benefit from a maintenance matrix.  Or condominium associations may just want to have a quick-reference guide to assist with figuring out whether the association or a co-owner is responsible for maintaining, repairing, or replacing a given common element.  Whatever the reason, a condominium association should consult with an experienced condominium attorney to draft the maintenance matrix.  And if a board of directors drafts a maintenance matrix on their own, they should have a condominium attorney review it to ensure that it accurately reflect the maintenance, repair, and replacement responsibilities in the condominium documents and includes all common elements.  At the end of the day, an accurate, clear, and comprehensible maintenance matrix can help streamline maintenance, repair, and replacement requests and ensure that costs for such work are correctly allocated.  Nearly all condominium associations can benefit from the peace of mind and operational efficiency that a maintenance matrix brings.

 

Michael T. Pereira, Esq., is an Attorney with Hirzel Law, PLC and focuses his practice on general counsel matters and document amendments. Mr. Pereira graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2018, where he graduated magna cum laude and second in his class. Following graduation from Detroit Mercy, Mr. Pereira spent nearly three years with the Michigan Court of Appeals as a research attorney and as a law clerk to Judge Patrick M. Meter and Judge Anica Letica. Best Lawyers: “Ones to Watch” recognized Mr. Pereira in 2024 for professional excellence in real estate law. He may be reached at (248) 478-1800 or mpereira@hirzellaw.com.