HOA tree root damage backyard cement

[minhdo64]

Jurisdiction

California

I'm living in San diego <CA. The HOA has a tree root crack on my backyard cement. I replace the cement, it costs me $4500, but HOA emailed me they want to pay me only $1000. I have a picture the tree root under the cement. I haven't answer HOA to agree for $1000. What do I need to do so they must pay full replacement cost?
Thanks

 

[army judge]

What do I need to do so they must pay full replacement cost?

You need to involve your home insurer, assuming you have the coverage.

Your insurer will do everything to see to it that you are made whole.

 

[Zigner]

You posted this on another forum as well. My answer there (and here) is that you need to review your HOA documents along with the reason for asking you to pay a portion. We do not have access to those documents.

 

[zddoodah]

What do I need to do so they must pay full replacement cost?

You're going to have to convince someone that $4,500 was a reasonable cost to incur.

Did you let the HOA know about this situation before making repairs? If so, when did you do that? If not, why not?

If you did notify the HOA in advance, did you receive a response? If so, what was the response? If not, did you follow up?

Did you provide the HOA with a quote for the work in advance of having it done? If not, why not? if so, what response did you receive?

When did you have the work done?

Has the HOA offered an explanation for wanting to pay only $1k? If so, what is it?

Since this issue was caused by a tree root, did you, in addition to replacing the concrete, take measures to rectify the underlying problem? If so, what measures did you take, and how much did that cost?

 

[adjusterjack]

I have a picture the tree root under the cement.

Please upload it using the green "upload a file" button.

What do I need to do so they must pay full replacement cost?

Start by reading this article that I found on an attorney's website. This is not an endorsement of that attorney. I post this particular article because it has case citations at the bottom of the page.

Tree Roots Liability, Damages and Insurance – Turner Law Firm (kjtlaw-news-articles.com)

Which you can read by looking them up on Google Scholar.

Google Scholar

You need to involve your home insurer, assuming you have the coverage.

Might not be covered due to the exclusions for wear and tear and settling, shrinking and cracking.

But, yes, it's a good idea to have your insurance claims department review your policy.

You're going to have to convince someone that $4,500 was a reasonable cost to incur.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was reasonable. I just spent $16,000 on a new driveway.

Otherwise, I would also like the answers to Zddoodah's questions.

And one more. Did you ever notify the HOA the FIRST TIME you saw the slight bulging from the tree root. It's possible that the problem could have been resolved then, without replacing the concrete.