Sewage came up from the toilet, is it me or the HOA responsible?

[Julian L.]

There has been a major plumbing issue in my condo, since I bought it in early 2015. I have witnessed at least 2 other units with severe water damage because of the plumbing in common areas. Could this be a case of HOA negligence?

I rent out my condo and the night of Thanksgiving (11/22) there was a significant flood caused by a common area pipe. Sewage had backed up and caused gallons of "**** water" to come up from the toilet. My renter had to leave, her stuff all had to be packed up and she has been relocated, going from one Airbnb to the next, on my dime. (This is unique to City of Santa Monica, found here: https://www.smgov.net/departments/cpu/content.aspx?id=8472)

Fast forward to now... my insurance has said there is $3k in damage, when I received 2 bids from contractors, both at $22k. Though there is a $19k discrepancy, I feel like the HOA has admitted they are responsible for this cost and their insurance adjuster has contacted me to try and help me, since the physical unit was damaged.

In the meantime, the City of Santa Monica is forcing me to relocate my tenant, as my unit is inhabitable. It is costing me $345/day, so it will be approximately $15k in costs. The HOA is saying they aren't responsible for relocation.

Today, I just got hit with a $31k bill because my insurance denied the restoration, pack out, mitigation and storage all of my renters personal property, to get it away from the sewage while the unit is being rebuilt. Again, the City is forcing me, the landlord, to take care of all financial responsibility. My HOA is saying they aren't responsible for damage inside my unit and that they are only responsible for the common area problem.

My renter had renters insurance, but only had $5k. Per the City, the renter is not responsible for most costs and all of the financial responsibility due to a inhabitable area, is the landlords responsibility.

All of these costs have been put on credit cards and have added up to nearly $68k. I am scared, frightened, freaked out. My wife and I aren't sleeping and are canceling Christmas because of this. I have a lawyer, but I'm paying by the hour so I'm trying to use him sparingly.

Is this a case of HOA negligence? Can I sue them for all of these costs, since they knew the pipe would be an issue? Is this legal for me to have to pay all of these costs when neither I nor the person living in my unit caused this problem. We tried to fix immediately as possible.

Any feedback or advice you can provide would be extremely appreciated.