Sewers

A tree roots broke into my sewer line. Should HOA pay for it?

A tree roots broke into my sewer line. I hired a plumber to snake it. He did a camera inspection afterwards and found that my PVC pipe is broken between my house and the city line. I live in Florida, in a community with HOA and they are responsible for all outside maintenance including tree trimming, etc. I cannot even dig on my own lot in front of the house without their permission. I'm going to open a claim with my homeowner insurance - Citizens, but even if they cover it, I still need to pay a deductible. So I guess my questions are: Who is responsible for a repair - HOA or me? If I'm liable for a repair, should I ask my HOA to knock down the tree to prevent future breakage? If Citizens will pay for it, can HOA reimburse my deductible? HOA agreement contains nothing about sewer... Like this problem never happens…

Public Comments

1. There is no way to answer your question with out reading your contract. Start there.
2. To read your HOA contract is a first step. But I doubt they will pay. I have had a very similar situation and learned that HOA will not pay to fix your sewer line. I assume their contracts are sort of standard and made to make you responsible for everything and them for none (or almost none). Your home owner insurance may not pay for this either, if the root is outside the foundation of your house. They would cover water damage to your house from sewer blockage but not for fixing it. But again read your contracts! If you will get it covered by HOA or insurance share with us at http://www.joetheplumbernet.com Most likely you are on your own. You could probably ask to remove the tree, but are you sure which one to blame? Root can go big distance. And if the line was not leaky roots would not grow into it.