Who Is Responsible For Masonry Repairs In A Condo Building?

Let’s paint a picture: a board member in a six-unit building in Boston gets three separate calls in one week about the same crack. It ran down the mortar joints near the entryway, and every owner had a different opinion on whose problem it was. That confusion is common. Brick, stone, and foundation work sit at the center of one of the more contentious lines in condo governance: what belongs to the association, and what belongs to the individual owner.

TL;DR: In most Massachusetts condominiums, the association covers masonry that is part of the building's common elements, while individual owners are typically responsible only for what's inside their own units. That said, there are nuances that can be specific to your building, so check your agreement and verify with your board

Common Elements Versus What You Actually Own in a Condo

A condo unit is really two things layered together: the interior space someone bought, and a share of everything holding the building up. The foundation, the brick or stone exterior, chimneys, shared stairways and entryways all generally fall into that second category. Since masonry is structural by nature, it almost always lands on the association's side of the ledger.

If a chimney is shedding brick onto the sidewalk, that's not one owner's bill to pay. It usually comes out of condo fees, or in worse cases, a special assessment that nobody on the board wanted to have to propose.

What Massachusetts Law Says About Condo Maintenance

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 183A is the statute that governs how condominiums are structured in this state, and it treats the building's exterior and structural elements as common areas by default, unless the master deed spells out something different. The Community Associations Institute, a national resource for HOA and condo governance, has been clear that boards carry a fiduciary duty to keep common elements in good repair on behalf of every owner, not just the ones making noise about it.

Every building's paperwork is different though. A patio wall attached to one unit's exclusive-use space, a chimney serving only one flue, and a stoop outside a single entrance may get classified as limited common elements more often than people expect, and that classification can shift who pays.

The Gray Areas of Condo Maintenance

Let’s say the Boston example above turned out to be a limited common element issue. The crack ran along a section of foundation wall that served only two of the six units, and the master deed assigned repair costs to those two owners specifically, split down the middle. Neither owner had read that section of the deed until the crack forced the question. It's always worth reading it before there's a crack.

Common Masonry Problems Boards Run Into

Triple-deckers and pre-war buildings across Somerville, Cambridge, and Dorchester tend to show the same handful of issues. Mortar joints erode and let water in, which is the most frequent repair call. Foundation walls crack from decades of freeze and thaw.

Brick faces spall, and white efflorescence shows up where moisture has been working through the wall for longer than anyone noticed. JMS Masonry & Restoration offers foundation repair in Boston and has walked boards through the difference between catching this early and catching it after a unit owner's basement floods.

Choose JMS Masonry & Restoration for Condo Repair in the Boston Area

Our team works with property managers and boards directly, walking buildings, documenting condition for reserve studies, and doing repairs that respect the age of the structure instead of papering over it. A repointing job on a Somerville triple-decker looks nothing like a full facade restoration on a larger Back Bay association, and the approach should reflect that.

If a board is unsure whether a masonry issue is common element or limited common element, an inspection settles the question with documentation instead of guesswork. That paperwork matters later, whether it goes to the association's attorney or gets referenced in the next reserve study.

As always, there are nuances to situations like these, so be sure to check with your appropriate point of contact.