A.R.S. 33-1247: Who Maintains the Plumbing in an Arizona Condo

The rule draws a line between the common elements and the unit. The association takes care of the shared parts of the property. Each owner takes care of their own unit. The statute states it plainly:

The association is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of the common elements, and each unit owner is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of the unit.

For plumbing, that usually means the pipes serving only your unit, such as the supply lines and drains inside your walls that no other unit uses, are your responsibility. Shared plumbing that serves the building or multiple units, like a common sewer main or a stack running between floors, is typically a common element and the association's job. The statute also gives the association a right of access: on reasonable notice, an owner has to allow entry to the unit when it is needed to reach and repair the common elements.

Picture a second-floor condo where a drain line inside the wall leaks into the unit below. Whether the owner or the HOA pays turns on whether that pipe is part of the unit or a shared common element, and the answer decides who repairs both the pipe and the water damage. The statute even addresses damage caused during access: if the work damages a unit or the common elements, the party responsible for the damage is liable for the prompt repair.

There is one critical catch. A.R.S. 33-1247 is only the default. It applies "except to the extent otherwise provided by the declaration." A condo's declaration and its CC&Rs can reassign these duties, and many do, pushing items like in-unit shutoff valves or certain shared lines onto the owner or the association differently than the statute's baseline.

Before you assume who pays for a plumbing repair in a condo, read your declaration and CC&Rs, because they override the statute's default split. If the documents are silent, the A.R.S. 33-1247 baseline applies: your unit is yours, the common elements are the association's. The same maintenance question in a non-condo HOA follows the Arizona Planned Communities Act. For the related question of who is responsible in a rented commercial space, see commercial plumbing tenant vs landlord, and for buried lines, who is responsible for the sewer line.

A.R.S. 33-1247 is Arizona's official statute and a public-domain government work. Read the complete section, including the access and damage-liability provisions, on the Arizona Legislature's site: View A.R.S. 33-1247 on azleg.gov.

This page explains a general Arizona statute and is not legal advice. Responsibility in a real dispute depends on the specific declaration, the plat, and the facts, so review your governing documents and consult an attorney or your association before relying on it.