What the law says, and what it leaves to the documents
Florida Statutes §718.113(1), for condominiums: "Maintenance of the common elements is the responsibility of the association, except for any maintenance responsibility for limited common elements assigned to the unit owner by the declaration." Subsection (3) adds that a unit owner "shall not do anything within his or her unit or on the common elements which would adversely affect the safety or soundness of the common elements". For single-family HOAs, Chapter 720 governs, and §720.305 sets out the association's and the owners' obligations under the governing documents — which means, for a detached home in Del Webb or Cresswind, the plumbing is yours to the property line and the HOA's interest is in the exterior and the common areas.
The declaration of condominium is the document that draws the line. Most in Manatee County put it at the point where a pipe serves only your unit: the branch line from the riser or the main is yours, the riser and everything before it is the association's. Read yours; ask the manager for the section on maintenance and "limited common elements".
The usual sort
Yours, almost always: the water heater; every fixture, faucet, toilet and disposal; the supply lines and shutoff valves inside the unit; the drain lines inside the unit to the point they join a shared line; the washing machine hoses. The association's, almost always: the building's water and sewer mains, the risers between floors, the shared laterals to the street, the exterior hose bibs and irrigation, the backflow assembly at the meter, and the roof vents. Grey: the drain under your slab in a villa or townhome (often the association's, sometimes not); the shutoff valve where the branch leaves the riser; a leak in a shared wall.
When it leaks across the line
A water heater that fails in an upper unit floods the unit below. Florida's condominium insurance rules put the drywall, cabinets and flooring of each unit on that unit's owner's policy and the structure on the association's, with the association's deductible and the cause deciding who pays what. What settles it is the plumber's written finding: what failed, where, and whether it was the owner's or the common element. Rosco Plumbing writes that finding on the first visit, photographs the failure, and gives it to both owners and the manager.
When to stop and call a licensed plumber
- A leak is active — shut the unit's main and call; the sorting-out comes after the water stops.
- You want the water heater or any fixture replaced and the association requires the contractor's licence and insurance on file first.
- Water is coming from above or from a shared wall — you need a written finding of the source for the insurers.
- The association says a pipe is yours and you are not sure; the declaration and a plumber's look at where the line serves only your unit settle it.
Rosco Plumbing's $75–$150 service call in Manatee County's condo and 55+ communities is applied toward the repair, and its written finding of the leak's source is what the association and the insurers work from.
Call (941) 345-2464 or request a free estimate. Residential service in Manatee County; ranges are planning figures, not quotes.
Have Rosco Plumbing contact you about this
Describe what you are seeing and Ross will call or text back with what it sounds like and what the visit costs — no obligation.
What changes in Manatee County
Worked examples from Manatee County. Del Webb Lakewood Ranch, Cresswind and Esplanade at Artisan Lakes are mostly detached homes under Chapter 720 HOAs: the plumbing is the owner's, and the HOA's rules are about exterior changes and contractor registration. River Strand, Heritage Harbour, Tara and Peridia mix single-family, villa and condo product, and the answer changes building by building. Perico Bay Club and Longboat Key are condominium associations under Chapter 718, where shared risers in 1970s–80s buildings are the association's problem and the branch lines inside the unit are the owner's. Every one of them has its declaration on file with the manager.