Funding a Community Roof
Most boards know what the roof needs long before they can pay for it. The real decision is where the money comes from, and California puts approval thresholds around some of those routes.
The four routes
- Reserves — what they are for, if the fund is adequate and the component is the one being replaced
- Special assessment — a one-time charge, which may require member approval depending on its size
- An association loan, repaid from assessments, which spreads cost but adds interest and lender conditions
- Phasing — replace the buildings that need it now from available reserves, and schedule the rest
Member approval thresholds
Under the Davis-Stirling Act, a board generally may not, without approval of a majority of a quorum of members, impose a regular assessment increase of more than 20% above the prior fiscal year, or special assessments totalling more than 5% of the budgeted gross expenses for that fiscal year — Civil Code §5605.
There are exceptions, including for emergency situations as defined in the statute, and the mechanics of notice, quorum and balloting matter. Confirm all of this with your association's counsel before relying on it. We are roofers, not your legal advisors.
Why phasing is underused
Boards often treat the roof as one project because the reserve study treats it as one component. Bid per building, and a community with inadequate reserves can frequently replace the worst four this year from cash, without an assessment, and sequence the rest over three years.
That also spreads the disruption, which members notice more than they notice the accounting.
The cost of waiting
Deferral is a legitimate decision when the roofs have life left. It is an expensive one when they do not: interior damage, repeated repair spend, and in a failed roof the replacement of sheathing that was sound a year earlier.
A condition assessment per building tells you which of those two situations you are in.
Common questions
Can our board approve a special assessment for a roof without a member vote?
It depends on size and circumstances. Davis-Stirling generally requires member approval for special assessments totalling more than 5% of budgeted gross expenses in a fiscal year, with statutory exceptions including certain emergencies — Civil Code §5605. Your association's counsel should confirm how it applies to you.
Is it cheaper to replace all the roofs at once?
Per building, yes — mobilisation is spread and material is ordered in volume. Whether that saving outweighs the funding cost of doing it all now is the board's call, and we will price both so the comparison is real.