Condominium owners and residents have an obligation to comply
with their governing Rules and Regulations, By-laws and
Declaration. If an owner or resident breaches any of the governing
documents, and the condominium corporation is required to incur
costs to enforce compliance, then most Declarations require that
the owner indemnify (or "reimburse") the Corporation for
the costs that it has incurred.
The rationale for this indemnification is sound. If one owner in
a condominium building is not complying with the governing
documents, then it is not equitable for the other owners to have to
contribute to the enforcement costs.
The challenge for condominium Boards, lawyers and property
management is that a "breach" of the governing documents
is not always so clear. If an owner has been living for a year with
a dog in a "non-pet" building, and has tried to conceal
the animal from property management, then the breach of the
governing documents would be clear and
