HOA Roofing Claims Guide

• →Shared ownership — roofs on common elements belong to the association, but governing documents may assign maintenance, insurance, and deductible responsibilities differently than desk reviewers assume.
• →Common elements — clubhouses, carports, breezeways, detached garages, and shared drainage systems require separate documentation tracks from individual unit building roofs.
• →Master insurance policies — association policies cover declared values across multiple buildings; carrier estimates may aggregate or split scope inconsistently with field conditions.
• →Board approval processes — scope, contractor selection, and production timing often require board votes, owner notification, and documented meeting records before work proceeds.
• →Multiple stakeholders — property managers, board members, unit owners, carriers, engineers, and restoration contractors each need different documentation formats from the same field evidence.
• →Large claim values — multi-building communities multiply total insured values, triggering specialist adjusters, engineer review, and longer desk-review cycles.
• →Increased documentation requirements — carriers expect building-level photo indexing, governing doc context, and per-structure measurements beyond single-home residential templates.
• →Longer claim timelines — board meetings, access coordination across occupied units, and multi-phase production extend intake-to-closeout duration; contemporaneous logs protect timeline arguments.

• →HOA responsibilities — document which roofs, elevations, and accessories the association maintains per CC&Rs; photograph association-owned areas separately from unit-owner boundaries.
• →Unit owner responsibilities — when governing documents assign certain slopes, patios, or enclosed balconies to owners, label photos and scope lines accordingly to prevent attribution disputes.
• →Governing documents — request CC&R and bylaws excerpts identifying roof maintenance and insurance obligations; attach management letters confirming responsibility interpretation for the claim file.
• →CC&Rs — record declaration sections cited by property management regarding common-element roof definition, repair standards, and insurance deductible allocation.
• →Bylaws — document board authority requirements for contractor engagement, scope approval thresholds, and emergency repair authorization.
• →Insurance policy responsibilities — identify whether the master policy, unit-owner HO-6 policies, or both apply to specific roof sections; note deductible and coverage limits referenced by management.
• →Maintenance obligations — photograph pre-existing maintenance conditions, prior repairs, and deferred maintenance separately from storm-created damage to support attribution at desk review.
• →Index responsibility context on every building's photo set and estimate section — reviewers cannot approve scope they cannot attribute to the correct insured party.

This section supports claim documentation — not legal interpretation of governing documents. When responsibility boundaries are disputed, document management and board communications contemporaneously and defer legal questions to association counsel.

• →Multiple buildings — complete a building inventory before field work; assign consistent IDs that carry through photos, measurements, estimates, and board presentations.
• →Building numbering — use property management's official numbering scheme; mismatched labels between contractor files and association records delay board and carrier review.
• →Roof mapping — publish a community site plan with building labels, elevation orientations, and common-area structures before detailed close-up documentation.
• →Drone documentation — capture aerial context for multi-building layouts, inaccessible slopes, and shared drainage paths when permitted and safe.
• →Safety planning — document fall protection, roof access hazards, and crew safety plans before mobilizing across multiple structures with varying heights and pitches.
• →Access coordination — log property management authorization, gate codes, escort requirements, and restricted areas before each inspection day.
• →Occupied properties — plan inspections around resident schedules; document notification efforts and access windows when interior or balcony access is required.
• →Resident communication — record management-approved resident notices, door tags, and coordination delays that affect inspection timelines or production scheduling.
• →Common area documentation — inspect clubhouses, pool houses, carports, mail kiosks, and detached amenities as separate indexed structures — not merged into nearest building folders.

See the Commercial Roofing Documentation Guide for low-slope membrane assemblies on clubhouse or amenity buildings.

• →Every roof elevation — photograph north, south, east, and west (or labeled front/rear/left/right) on each building with overview shots before close-ups.
• →Every building — maintain separate photo albums or folders per building ID; never mix Building 3 damage into Building 7 folders.
• →Building-specific damage — index hail impacts, wind creases, and functional damage to the specific building and elevation where found.
• →Shared components — document gutters, downspouts, and shared drainage runs as community infrastructure indexed to the site plan, not individual unit folders.
• →Gutters and downspouts — photograph length, slope, separation, and impact damage with building-to-building continuity when shared systems span multiple structures.
• →Flashings — capture wall, chimney, skylight, and parapet flashings per building with overview pairs showing location on the elevation.
• →HVAC equipment — document roof-mounted units, curbs, and refrigerant lines per building; detach-reset requirements vary by equipment inventory.
• →Carports and covered parking — inspect and photograph as separate structures with their own damage indexing and measurement sections.
• →Clubhouses and amenity buildings — treat as distinct buildings with full elevation coverage; low-slope sections may require commercial-style documentation.
• →Detached structures — garages, sheds, and mail structures each receive building IDs and independent photo sets.
• →Fencing impacted by roofing work — photograph fence lines adjacent to staging areas, debris removal paths, and crane setup zones before production.
• →Consistent photo organization — use naming convention: CommunityID_BuildingID_Elevation_Condition_Date; match labels across photos, maps, and estimate room labels.

See the Hail and Wind Damage Roof Documentation Guides for peril-specific field evidence standards on storm losses.

• →Building-by-building estimates — create separate estimate sections or files per building when carrier templates allow; scope comparison tables must map lines to building IDs.
• →Roof section measurements — reconcile aerial reports to field measurements per building; document cut-up geometry, dormers, and multi-level sections omitted from satellite data.
• →Shared scopes — allocate gutter, downspout, and drainage line items to community infrastructure sections with site-plan references.
• →Access costs — document narrow driveways, gated communities, limited staging, and parking restrictions that support access and logistics line items.
• →Crane usage — photograph building height, setback constraints, and crane setup locations per building when hoisting is required on multi-story structures.
• →Safety equipment — record parapet heights, steep-slope conditions, and warning-line requirements that vary across buildings in the same community.
• →Multiple mobilizations — log separate mobilization dates per building or phase when production is sequenced around board approval or resident access.
• →Temporary protection — document emergency tarping, dry-in, and temporary repairs per building with date-stamped photos before permanent scope is negotiated.
• →Occupied property requirements — record resident coordination, debris containment, and noise restriction compliance that supports production line items on occupied communities.

See the Roof Measurement Documentation Guide for measurement file standards and the Roofing Supplement Checklist before submission.

• →Code upgrades — document permit requirements and non-compliant existing conditions per building; see Code Upgrade Documentation Guide for citation standards.
• →Matching requirements — when discontinued shingles or color mismatch affects uniform appearance across buildings, document supplier letters and elevation comparisons — see Roof Matching Documentation Guide.
• →Manufacturer requirements — attach spec sheets showing patch limits exceeded on specific buildings; manufacturer guidance often drives full-slope replacement on multi-building communities.
• →Hidden damage — progressive tear-off photos per building with dated discovery notes; submit supplements before covering new assemblies on phased production.
• →Additional steep charges — document pitch variances across buildings in the same community; steep-slope surcharges apply per structure, not community-wide averages.
• →Multi-building mobilization — log separate mobilization and setup per building when carrier estimate assumes single mobilization for the entire community.
• →Safety requirements — photograph varying parapet heights, tie-off limitations, and OSHA-driven protection setups that differ across buildings.
• →Temporary repairs — date-stamped emergency mitigation photos per building before permanent production; timeline evidence supports emergency scope lines.
• →Access limitations — document gate restrictions, escort delays, resident scheduling conflicts, and after-hours authorization that extend production duration.
• →Weather delays — log lost production days per building with weather verification when phased scheduling across a multi-building community is interrupted.

• →Board meetings — prepare inspection summaries in plain language with building-level photos; board members approve scope based on visual evidence, not Xactimate line codes.
• →Documentation packages — deliver indexed packets: building inventory, site plan, photo index, measurement summary, and scope comparison table before board votes.
• →Inspection summaries — one-page per-building damage summaries with representative photos accelerate board review and create contemporaneous approval records.
• →Engineering reports — when structural or repairability disputes arise, coordinate engineer findings with field photo evidence indexed to the same building IDs.
• →Communication best practices — copy property management on all carrier correspondence; board members receive summaries, not raw estimate exports.
• →Scope reviews — present building-by-building scope tables showing carrier lines, contractor findings, and recommended revisions before production authorization.
• →Reinspection preparation — when carriers schedule community reinspections, prepare building-labeled photo packets and on-site escorts familiar with each structure's damage — see Roof Reinspection Guide.

Board approval records strengthen timeline arguments when production delays affect temporary repair exposure or interior damage progression.

• →Initial inspection — safety plan, access authorization, and governing doc summary on file before stepping on any roof.
• →Building inventory — every structure numbered and listed with roof type, square count, and elevation count.
• →Photography — overview and close-up pairs for every elevation on every building; shared components and amenities indexed separately.
• →Measurements — per-building measurements reconciled to carrier sketch with variance documentation.
• →Board communication — inspection summary delivered to property management; board meeting scheduled or scope review completed.
• →Estimate review — building-by-building scope comparison complete; carrier gaps identified before supplement drafting.
• →Documentation package — indexed packet with site plan, photo index, measurements, governing doc summary, and contractor narrative.
• →Supplement preparation — disputed lines tied to building-specific photos; Roofing Supplement Checklist complete.
• →Carrier meetings — building-labeled evidence ready for adjuster walkthrough; escort assigned per building zone.
• →Final approval — board authorization, carrier approval, and production schedule documented before mobilization.