Water Damage From Shared Kitchen Line Backed Up - HOA Says I Need to Pay For the Damage...

I went out last Sunday morning to run some errands, and came home to a puddle of water from my kitchen sink all the way out to my living room.

I live on the first floor. The shared kitchen line was clogged and backed up what I'd call 'garbage disposal' water to my unit. Fortunately I got home before the sinks overflowed, however the reverse pressure coming up the line caused leaking from the seal underneath my sink basket, which is where the water flowed out onto my floor. This seal has never leaked before.

Last year we had a similar issue, and the section of pipe in the crawl space that runs the shared kitchen line to the main was replaced as it had been corroded to the point that it caused blockage and even a hole in the bottom of the cast iron pipe, allowing that 'garbage disposal' water to pool in my crawlspace. I only found the issue as I began to smell something, looked in the crawlspace to find a massive puddle of grey water.

I initially called the emergency line at about 11am that day, and after about 3 hours and 6 calls later, I was finally put in touch with Tony at Barnes Enterprise Maintenance, the main contractors that work on our complex, Prospector's Point. However, it wasn't until about 12:30pm the next day that a drain technician was finally able to come out and snake the line. One of the blades on his snake actually broke, so he also believes the connection to the main, a short piece of cast iron that drops down to the main line, must have a lot of corrosion and blockage as well. Fortunately, he was able to clear it enough for water to flow again.

But unfortunately, the amount of water that backflowed onto my floor has caused swelling and warping in the laminate. Also unfortunately, this wasn't clear water, it was that 'garbage disposal' water.

Since the issue began in the crawlspace where the shared kitchen line connects to the main, the last piece that they DID NOT repair or replace a year ago, I asked my HOA about next steps on the water damage to my floors and any remediation to avoid mold or any bacterial issues from the water.

I basically sent them the same story as above, including numerous images that showed the active leak and the resulting water damage. The response from John at Colorado Property Management Services, the company that manages our community, was "Please review the attached covenants regarding maintenance responsibilities. The interior of the unit is a homeowner responsibility and you should contact your insurance company to file a claim."

Obviously, the interior of my unit is my responsibility. If a pipe within my unit broke and caused the damage, obviously that's on me. But the damage to my unit was literally caused by a failure in the shared line which is the HOA's responsibility to maintain and repair. As far as I'm concerned, they didn't fully address the issue a year ago, and the result caused damage to my unit. How would I ever be responsible for that? So anytime there's a backup from the shared lines that damages my unit, that's up to me to pay for the damage?? Just because I'm the lucky one on the first floor?

Part of my HOA dues pay for the Association's insurance... I don't see any logical reason why they shouldn't be responsible for paying to fix the damage to my unit.