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One Way Or Another, Copies Will Cost You

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By RICHARD WHITE

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 14, 2008

Is there a way to get my condominium documents without paying the management office for them? Maybe there's an Internet site where I can download them?

WA

St. Petersburg

If you are a buyer, the seller should provide a current set of documents. If you are an owner, you can obtain a copy from your association, which is required by law to provide them. The association is, however, allowed to charge a reasonable fee for copying.

The documents are recorded in the county records, so you could go there and make copies - but you'll have to pay whatever the copy charge is. You could ask to borrow a neighbor's documents and copy them, but again, one way or another you'll have to pay the price of copying.

If you have a computer scanner, you can scan the borrowed documents into your computer. Then you'll have them, and you don't have to print them out unless the need arises.

Some communities have Web pages and make a set of documents available there. Ask if that is the case for your community.

My wife and I are in the process of selling our condominium. When the inspection was done, the unit was tested for radon and the reading was high enough that it has to be mitigated by a licensed contractor.

Our unit is on the first floor and our condominium documents state that we own from the top of the floor slab to the bottom of the ceiling slab. So it would seem correcting the radon gas problem, which comes from the ground, would be the responsibility of the property management company or the association. To me it is not unlike the roof leaking. No one would expect the person living on the top floor to be responsible for repairing the roof.

The property management company has said it does not pay for radon mitigation. Is the association responsible? Or am I?

RW
Naples
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that is radioactive. It can be found in homes where there are breaks, cracks or holes in the floor slab. Most homes have a little gas, which can be reduced simply by circulating fresh air in the home. But if there are major leaks, the floor must be sealed.

I would send the board of directors a copy of the report by certified mail. Ask that the association correct the problem, and refer to the portion of the documents that says the association is responsible for the floor slab.

For more about radon, go to www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html.

Richard White is a licensed community association manager. He does not offer legal opinions; any other questions and comments concerning association operations can be sent to Richard White, 6039 Cypress Gardens Blvd., No. 201, Winter Haven FL 33884-4115;

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