The typical condominium project consists of three categories of property: the “separate interest” (normally called the “unit”), the “common area,” and a subset of the common area called “exclusive use common area.”
Misunderstandings regarding exclusive use areas lead to many avoidable disagreements. Simply put, exclusive use areas are not “your” property but are a portion of the common area set aside for one member’s use.
The unit is normally defined in the “notes” portion of the condominium plan, an important but often overlooked document.
While some developers have become more creative, the typical condominium unit configuration is a box of airspace surrounded by the unfinished surfaces of walls, ceilings and floors. Everything else is “common area.”
However there are many areas that are common areas but which clearly are intended for the use and enjoyment of a single unit owner, and these areas are called “exclusive use common areas.”
Exclusive use common areas are sometimes defined in the Condominium Plan or CC&Rs, but Civil Code 4145 provides a default definition if the governing documents do not fully cover the topic including: “shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes and hardware … screens and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single separate interest, but located outside the boundaries of the separate interest…”
Fixtures serving a single unit but existing outside of the unit boundaries may include water heaters or air conditioning equipment, for example.
Many condominiums are bought with the mistaken belief that the exclusive use area, such as a balcony, or patio, is “theirs” and so the HOA has nothing to say about it. Unfortunately, members often think that, because their use is exclusive, their control of the area is also exclusive and so the HOA has no say. That can lead to enforcement situations and disputes because…
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