Condo Plumbing in Florida: A Unit Owner’s Guide

Start with your declaration

Every Florida condominium has a declaration, and it’s the document that decides where your unit ends and the common elements begin. For plumbing, that boundary is everything. Some declarations put the line at the unfinished drywall, which usually means the pipes inside the walls belong to the association. Others say any pipe, fixture or line that serves only your unit is yours to maintain, even if it runs through a common wall or under the slab.

Get a copy from your association or management company and look for these sections:

• Unit boundaries. Usually described as the interior unfinished surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors and ceilings. Anything outside that line is generally common element.
• Limited common elements. Items reserved for one unit but owned in common, like a balcony, a storage closet or sometimes the AC equipment and its condensate line. The declaration says who maintains them.
• Maintenance and repair. A clause listing what the owner maintains. Look for the words “serving only the unit” or “exclusively serving.” That language often makes the branch lines, shutoff valves and drain arms behind your fixtures your responsibility.
• Amendments. Older Lee and Collier buildings from the 1970s and 1980s often have several amendments. The latest recorded version controls, so make sure you aren’t reading an outdated copy.

If the declaration is silent or unclear, the board’s past practice won’t settle it on its own. Ask the manager in writing how the association interprets the clause and keep the reply. We see a lot of disputes that started because nobody knew which side of the wall a leaking pipe was on.

The Chapter 718 insurance split, in plain terms

Florida Statutes section 718.111(11) sets the basic split between the association’s master policy and the owner’s own coverage. The association insures the building as originally installed, or replacement of like kind and quality. The statute then carves out a list of items the master policy does not have to cover, and those fall on the unit owner.

The excluded list includes personal property inside the unit, floor, wall and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments. Notice what’s on that list from a plumbing standpoint: your water heater, any filter or softener system, your appliances like the dishwasher and washing machine, plus the flooring, drywall finish and cabinets that get ruined when one of them leaks.

So even when the association owns the pipe that broke, the cost of your wet cabinets and buckled vinyl plank can land on your HO-6 policy. Owners are often surprised by that. The statute also says the owner is responsible for damage to other units and common areas not paid by insurance when it’s caused by the owner’s intentional conduct, negligence or failure to follow the declaration or rules. A washer hose you never replaced or a renovation done without approval can shift the bill toward you.

Your declaration can’t override the statute on most of these points, but it can add detail. Read both together, and treat this section as general information rather than legal advice. A condo attorney or your insurance agent should answer the specific question for your building.

HO-6 questions to ask your agent

An HO-6 is the policy written for condo unit owners. Two policies with the same premium can respond very differently to a plumbing loss. Bring these questions to your agent and get the answers in writing:

• What is my dwelling (building property) limit, and does it cover everything 718.111(11) excludes from the master policy, including cabinets, countertops, flooring and the water heater?
• How much loss assessment coverage do I have? If the association’s master policy deductible is assessed to owners after a building-wide loss, this is the part of my policy that responds.
• Is water damage covered for sudden and accidental discharge only, or also for leaks that happen over time? Most policies exclude long-term seepage, which is why slow leaks matter.
• Is there a separate or higher deductible for water losses?
• Do I have water backup coverage for sewer or drain backups into the unit? Many policies need an endorsement for this.
• Does coverage change if the unit is vacant or unoccupied for a set number of days while I’m up north?
• Does the policy require a leak detection device or automatic shutoff, or give a credit for one?
• Does it cover the cost of opening and repairing walls to reach the leak, separate from the pipe repair itself?

If you rent the unit out, also ask whether your policy is written for an owner-occupied unit or a rental. The answer can change how a claim is handled.

Water heater age policies

Water heaters are the single most common source of unit-to-unit water damage we see in condo buildings. A tank sitting in a hall closet above someone else’s ceiling has a lot of ways to fail: a rusted-through bottom, a leaking relief valve, a failed supply connector or a pan drain that was never connected.

Because of that, many Southwest Florida associations have rules requiring owners to replace tank water heaters at a set age, often somewhere around 10 to 12 years, and some insurers ask about the age at renewal. The exact number lives in your building’s rules, not state law, so check the rules and regulations or ask the manager.

Things the association or an inspector may also look for:

• A drain pan under the heater, piped to an approved location. The Florida Building Code calls for a pan where a leak would cause damage, which describes nearly every condo closet.
• A working temperature and pressure relief valve with its discharge line run full size to a safe point.
• Braided or rigid supply connectors in good condition, plus an accessible cold-water shutoff.
• The manufacture date on the data plate. If the plate is unreadable, the serial number usually encodes the year.

If your unit is close to the age limit, plan the swap before it fails instead of after. Our water heater page covers replacement options, including whether a tankless unit fits your space and the building’s electrical capacity.

Leak sensors and automatic shutoffs

A leak sensor is a small device that sits on the floor and alerts you when it gets wet. An automatic shutoff goes further: it pairs sensors with a motorized valve on your unit’s main supply and closes the water when a sensor trips. For an owner who spends part of the year away, the shutoff is the device that actually limits damage. An alert on your phone in Ohio doesn’t stop the water.

Good places for sensors in a condo:

• In or beside the water heater pan
• Under the kitchen sink and behind the dishwasher
• Behind the washing machine
• Behind each toilet
• Near the AC air handler, where a clogged condensate line can overflow

Before you buy a shutoff valve, find out where your unit’s supply valve actually is. In many mid-rise buildings it’s inside the unit, often in the water heater closet or under the kitchen sink. In others it’s in a hallway chase or a utility room the association controls, and you’ll need permission to install anything there. Our shutoff guide walks through finding it.

Some associations now require shutoffs or sensors in units that will be vacant. Even where it isn’t required, the board will usually look more kindly on an owner who had one installed and documented.

When water comes from above

A stain spreading across your ceiling, or water dripping from a light fixture, almost always means a problem in the unit above or in a common pipe running through the ceiling space. What you do in the first hour matters for both the damage and the claim.

• If water is near light fixtures or outlets, turn off that circuit at your breaker panel.
• Call the management company or the building’s emergency line right away. They can reach the upstairs owner or open the unit with the association’s key if the declaration allows it.
• Knock on the door above. If someone is home, ask them to shut off their water heater supply and main valve.
• Take photos and video of the ceiling, the water and anything damaged, with time stamps, before you move things.
• Put buckets down and move furniture and electronics out of the way. Don’t poke holes in a sagging ceiling yourself unless water is pooling and it’s about to fall.
• Report the loss to your HO-6 carrier promptly, even if you think the upstairs owner or the association will end up paying.
• Write down who you spoke to and when. Ask the manager to note the source once it’s found.

Finding the source can take work. Water travels along joists, conduit and pipe before it drips, so the wet spot on your ceiling may be several feet from the actual leak. A plumber may need to check the unit above, the riser chase and the drain stacks. Our leak detection work uses moisture meters, thermal imaging and pressure testing to pin down the source before anyone starts cutting drywall.

Before you leave for the season

Seasonal owners who close up a condo from late spring through fall come back to the same problems every year: a dried-out drain trap that let sewer gas into the unit, a slow toilet fill valve leak, or an AC condensate line clogged with algae. Use this list before you lock the door:

• Shut off the water to the unit at its supply valve, or confirm your automatic shutoff is set to away mode.
• Turn the water heater off at the breaker, or to vacation mode on a gas or tankless unit, after the water is off.
• Run the dishwasher and washer empty so nothing sits wet in them. Leave the washer door open to dry.
• Pour a little water into rarely used drains, and consider a cup of mineral oil in the shower drains to slow evaporation of the trap seal.
• Pour a cup of bleach or vinegar in the AC condensate line if the building allows it, and make sure the condensate switch works.
• Leave the AC running, set to a reasonable temperature, to keep humidity down. Your association may have a rule on minimum settings.
• Give a key to the manager or a house watcher, and tell your HO-6 agent if the policy has vacancy conditions.
• Ask a house watcher to check under sinks, around the water heater and the ceilings below your unit on each visit.

For a fuller list that covers single-family seasonal homes too, see our seasonal home plumbing checklist.

Renovation approvals for plumbing work

Under section 718.113, owners generally can’t make material alterations to the common elements without association approval, and most declarations require board approval for interior work that touches plumbing, structure or the building’s systems. Moving a sink, adding a bathroom, swapping a tub for a walk-in shower or relocating a washer all usually need sign-off.

Expect the association to ask for some combination of these before work starts:

• A written scope and drawings showing any fixture moves
• Proof of the contractor’s license and insurance, often with the association named as additional insured
• A copy of the building permit, when the work requires one
• Work hours, elevator reservation and protection for common hallways
• A note on whether the work needs the building riser or stack shut down, which affects other units

Plumbing permits in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties come from the local building department for the city or county where the building sits. Moving drains in a slab-on-grade or post-tensioned building is a bigger job than it sounds, because cutting concrete in a post-tension slab requires scanning and often an engineer. If a shutdown of a common riser is needed, the association usually schedules it.

Skipping approval is risky. If unapproved work later leaks into the unit below, the negligence and rules-compliance language in 718.111(11) gives the association and the downstairs owner’s insurer a strong argument that the cost is yours. Appliance swaps like dishwashers, ice makers and washers are smaller, but connect them right; our appliance hookup page explains what we check.

SIRS, reserves and special assessments

After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida passed laws requiring milestone inspections and a structural integrity reserve study, often called a SIRS, for condo buildings three stories or taller. Plumbing is one of the components a SIRS has to evaluate, along with the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, electrical, waterproofing and windows.

For owners, the practical effect is money. Associations must fund reserves for the items the SIRS covers, and the law limits the old practice of voting to waive or underfund those reserves. Buildings that put off replacing original cast iron drain stacks or galvanized supply risers for decades are now seeing those projects show up in the study, and some are paying for them with special assessments or loans.

If you own in an older building or are buying in one, ask the manager for the most recent SIRS and look at what it says about plumbing: the estimated remaining life of the risers and stacks, the expected replacement year and the reserve balance against it. Riser and stack projects often mean opening walls inside units, so ask how the association handles access and finish repairs. The rules in this area have been amended more than once since 2022, so confirm current requirements with the association’s attorney or manager.

Scenario table: who’s likely responsible

This is a general starting point, not a ruling. Your declaration and the specific facts control, and an insurer may see it differently.

Keep a plumbing file for your unit

The owners who come through a leak with the least stress usually have a simple folder ready. Keep the declaration and rules, your HO-6 declarations page, the water heater install date, receipts for supply line and valve replacements, sensor and shutoff records, and any renovation approvals. Take photos of the water heater closet, under the sinks and behind the washer once a year so you can show the condition before a loss.

If you’d like a yearly look at your unit’s fixtures, valves and water heater, our annual maintenance plan is a check-up of the plumbing system; call for details. Board members and managers dealing with building-wide issues can see how we work with associations on our property manager and HOA page, and owners who need repair work inside a unit can start with our condo plumbing service.