WHEN ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE?

Q: I live in a townhome in a homeowners association with four units attached on each parcel by an archway. I have bees in the wall of the archway that need to be removed. My neighbor says the association is responsible because the problem is not within the four walls of our units. The association says it is my responsibility. Who is correct? — Joel

A: While neighbors may have good information to share with you, they are not considered a recognized authority. And, all too often, even the board of your association can be working under a misunderstanding of what your govern- ing documents actually say.

You will need to review the documents to see what they actually say. Association rules are, in reality, nothing more than a contract between you and your neighbors.

Homes such as yours that share a wall or fixture are governed by either the com- munity documents or a private “party wall agreement” between you and your direct neighbor. If for some reason your community documents are silent on this sort of maintenance issue, and there is no party wall agreement, the general provisions of law — what lawyers call “common law” — will give you the answer. Under common law, a problem such as yours will be split equally between the two owners who share the problem.

This means that unless your community’s governing documents state the association is responsible, you and your neighbor are. If your neighbor is not cooperative, you will need to take care of it and look to your neighbor for reimbursement of half the cost.

Worst-case scenario, you may need to sue your neighbor to be reimbursed, and, depending on the cost of the bee removal, it may not be worth it to make an enemy of your neighbor with a lawsuit.