Overview

When something breaks in your HOA’s common areas (e.g., a leaking roof, a rotted balcony, or a burst pipe), the first question a lot of homeowners ask is, “Who’s responsible for paying for this?” The answer isn’t always what your board claims.

Under Civil Code 4775, unless your CC&Rs say otherwise, the default rule is straightforward:

• The HOA is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining common areas.
• When it comes to exclusive use common areas (balconies, patios, etc.), the homeowner is responsible only for maintenance, but the HOA is responsible for repairs and replacement.

That means if your HOA’s CC&Rs are silent, vague, or poorly written, the law controls, not board opinion. This Fact Sheet explains how Civil Code 4775 divides responsibility, how HOA boards from HELL routinely misapply it, and what homeowners can do when their HOA tries to unfairly and wrongfully shift repair costs.

For a deeper dive into this topic, see my full article on HOA obligations to maintain common areas, “Why California HOAs Are Legally Required to Maintain Common Areas and What Happens When They Don’t.”

You can also watch an episode of my podcast, HOA HELL, entitled “Is Your HOA Ignoring Unsafe Common Areas? What the Law Requires in California.”

Key Points

Civil Code 4775 establishes the legal default that applies when your HOA’s CC&Rs don’t otherwise allocate maintenance, repair, and replacement obligations related to your community’s common areas. The following points explain what that means in practice.

• Common areas are the HOA’s responsibility. Unless the CC&Rs explicitly say otherwise, the HOA must repair, replace, and maintain all common area components (Civil Code 4775). If your condominium’s roof leaks or a main sewer line breaks, the HOA, not individual owners, must pay for the repair.
• Exclusive use common areas split responsibility. Unless the CC&Rs explicitly say otherwise, homeowners must maintain their respective exclusive use common areas (e.g., balconies or patios), but the HOA must repair and replace those components. If you have an exclusive use balcony or patio, you may need to sweep, clean, or paint it, but the HOA pays for structural repairs or replacement when it cracks or leaks.
• “Exclusive use” doesn’t mean “exclusive cost.” The phrase simply means the homeowner has the right to use that space, not that they have to pay to repair it. HOAs often misrepresent this distinction to wrongfully push costs onto homeowners.
• Governing documents can override Civil Code 4775. Many CC&Rs rewrite the repair-responsibility split, but vague or conflicting language won’t override the statute. If the CC&Rs are silent or ambiguous, Civil Code 4775’s default rule applies.
• Ambiguity in the CC&Rs always favors the homeowner. California courts interpret unclear maintenance provisions against the HOA because they’re the party that drafted or enforces the documents. If your CC&Rs are unclear about balcony repairs, the HOA’s duty to repair and replace under Civil Code 4775 (and yours to maintain) controls.
• Common area vs. exclusive use common area. Homeowners must understand the difference between the two types of common area because that difference is critical.
  • Common area. Shared by all members (e.g., in a condominium, it includes roofs, exterior walls, structural supports, shared plumbing, and landscaping).
  • Exclusive use common area. Common area reserved for a single member’s use (balconies, patios, exterior doors, windows, and often certain pipes or conduits serving one unit). The legal default still places repair and replacement obligations on the HOA.
• HOA boards from Hell often “misread” 4775 to save money (i.e., they intentionally try to shift responsibility away from the HOA in the hope that homeowners won’t catch on). Bad HOAs sometimes claim homeowners are responsible for everything beyond the interior paint line. That’s wrong unless the CC&Rs specifically shift those responsibilities. A board demands that a homeowner pay for repairing balcony waterproofing because “it’s your patio.” If the CC&Rs don’t explicitly assign that duty to YOU, the HOA must cover the repair costs.
• Homeowners should challenge improper cost shifting. If your board tries to charge you for a common area or exclusive use common area repair or replacement, demand that they cite the specific CC&R section authorizing that cost. If none exists, Civil Code 4775 governs. [And remember this: Civil Code 4775 explicitly uses the word “declaration” (which means the CC&Rs), so don’t let your HOA cite a rule or any other of the governing documents to support the shift in maintenance responsibilities.]

Understanding Civil Code 4775 helps homeowners push back when HOAs attempt to offload repair expenses that legally belong to the association.

FAQs

About MBK Chapman Fact Sheets

Homeowners searching for answers online will often come across articles that appear authoritative, but are actually written as search-engine marketing content rather than by an experienced HOA lawyer. These pieces tend to prioritize keyword density over clarity, accuracy, or legal context, which often leaves homeowners more confused than informed.

At MBK Chapman, our Fact Sheets are part of our HOA Law Library and are written by Michael Kushner, an HOA lawyer with decades of hands-on experience representing California homeowners. In fact, Michael Kushner is the HOA lawyer who pioneered the systems and strategies used by some of California’s most successful homeowner-side HOA law firms.

Each Fact Sheet is deliberately concise, statute-based, and designed as a quick-reference guide to help homeowners understand key HOA laws and enforcement rules at a glance.

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