He Hired a Plumber to Clean Out the Sewer Line—The HOA Board Is Refusing to Reimburse Him
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Have you ever lived in a place where the sewer line backed up? I had this happen once, and I’m not gonna lie. It was pretty awful.
We hired a plumber to come out and fix it immediately. The problem ended up being roots in our main sewer line that goes to the street.
It was not a cheap fix, but it was essential. There was no way to live in a house with a backed up sewer line.
What I experienced is almost exactly the same situation as what the person who wrote this story experienced. The only difference is that they live in an HOA, and the HOA should be the one paying for this repair.
Keep reading to see what the HOA does to try to get out of paying.
HOA wouldn’t reimburse a $1,200 plumbing bill, so I just served them an $8,800 lawsuit
So my HOA is trying to blame a main sewer line root invasion on an “improper cleanout,” and I just served them with an $8,800 Small Claims lawsuit.
Back in February, raw sewage backed up into my place. I called an emergency plumber who cleared the line and ran a camera, finding heavy root intrusion originating out in the common area walkway.
I paid about $600 out of pocket for the emergency clearing and sent the receipt to management asking for reimbursement and for the HOA to clear the roots.
Management told me that pipes on my property line were my responsibility, but said they would inspect the main line.
But the problem was far from resolved.
Fast forward to May, and sewage backs up a second time.
This time I got three separate licensed plumbers to scope the line.
All three confirmed structural root damage in the main line right near the walkway cleanout, with repair estimates coming in around $5,000 to $7,000.
I sent all the reports and footage to management asking for urgent repairs.
This is going on way too long!
Instead of authorizing the repair, management sent out their own plumbing vendor in early June to hydro-jet the main line and run another camera inspection.
But then they completely hid their own vendor’s video files and report from me.
I spent a month demanding copies of their vendor’s inspection footage, but they just stonewalled me while the Board sat on it.
The Board is really trying hard to get out of paying for this problem!
In July, the Board finally sent a formal letter claiming the issue was caused by an “improperly installed sewer cleanout assembly” that was my responsibility, and said their vendor’s hydro-jetting was just done as a courtesy.
Because apparently an improper cleanout magically plants full-grown roots inside a main pipe.
Under my state’s HOA law, they’re required to maintain common area infrastructure and turn over association records upon formal demand.
I hit back immediately, demanding Internal Dispute Resolution and issuing another demand for their vendor’s inspection records.
The Board eventually had to admit the truth.
Only after I cited statutory non-compliance penalties did management finally hand over their vendor’s hydro-jetting report and the camera inspection video files.
Of course, their own vendor found the same problem: root intrusion originating at the exterior clean out.
We held the IDR meeting on site.
The Board president admitted they didn’t even know the exterior cleanout existed, as mine and my neighbors units are the only ones in the community that have them. They said they needed 10 days to pull original city plumbing plans to find out where the cleanouts came from before they could resolve the issue.
But now they’re heading to court.
But an hour after the meeting ended when I emailed saying I looked forward to hearing back in 10 days, management replied to me saying they weren’t legally required to give me a written resolution deadline, and basically opted to kick the can down the road further.
I sent a formal Notice of Intent to Sue with a 7-day deadline.
They replied saying management would no longer communicate with me due to pending legal action.
So I went straight ahead and filed.
It’s more expensive for the Board than it had to be.
My claim is for over $8,800, which includes out-of-pocket emergency clearings and diagnostics, the main line repair estimate (or a conditional judgement to force them to take on the repair), and a $500 statutory penalty for unlawfully withholding their vendor’s records, and court fees.
All I was originally asking for $1200 reimbursement for the emergency clearings, and for them to commit to handling the repairs.
Every plumber said the repair would require them to trench 5 to 6 feet down in the common area, which I don’t even have any legal authority to authorize even if I wanted to.
His evidence is ready!
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I served the papers and offered one last option to settle, but they let the deadline pass.
Trial is set for the end of September.
I have a thick evidence binder ready for the judge with four plumber reports, including their own vendor, email logs, and photos of common area bushes planted directly over the common area sewer cleanout.
Wish me luck!
The Board sounds awful! I hope he wins.
Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.
One person couldn’t hold back a pun.
Another person is impressed that OP isn’t suing for more.
Seems accurate.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who refused to let her neighbor have access to his spot, telling him to drive over the curb instead.
This is a good point.
The HOA is clearly responsible for paying the bill to fix this plumbing issue. They can try to lie, make excuses and hide from the bill all they want, but this is the reason homeowners in HOAs pay dues. The dues are supposed to pay for repairs in common areas, and this issue certainly sounds like it qualifies.
I hope the judge is on his side. The HOA needs to pay up!
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