Utilities & Infrastructure

Check the rules in this order: federal, state, local, then your documents

Four layers stack on every utility question a board faces. Federal law sets a floor that applies everywhere, but it is narrower than boards often assume: it decides when a private water system counts as a regulated "public water system," bans certain cable and internet exclusivity deals, and protects a resident's right to a small satellite dish on space they control alone. Federal law does not decide who owns a pipe or who pays a bill.

"Any restriction, including but not limited to any state or local law or regulation... that impairs the installation, maintenance, or use of" a covered antenna or satellite dish "is prohibited to the extent it so impairs."

Source: 47 CFR 1.4000, the OTARD rule, Federal Communications Commission

State law does the heavy lifting. State condominium and common-interest-ownership acts define which pipes, wires, and easements are common elements versus unit property, and state statutes set the actual dollar caps and disclosure rules for submetering. This is where "who owns this" and "what can we charge" get answered, and it is the layer that varies most from state to state.

Local ordinances and the specific utility serving the property add a third layer, such as a stormwater permit that says who maintains a pond, or a water utility's own backflow testing schedule. Only after checking all three should a board turn to its declaration and bylaws, which control wherever the layers above leave room, and which are overridden wherever a state statute is mandatory.

Ownership turns on whether a line serves one unit or more than one

Many states draw the line between what an owner owns and what the association owns by asking a single question: does this pipe, duct, or wire serve only one unit, or does it serve more than one? A line serving only one unit is typically that unit's own property, or a limited common element assigned to it. A line serving more than one unit, even if it physically runs through your walls, is typically a common element the association owns and maintains.

"Any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element allocated solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements is a part of the common elements."

Source: 68 Pa.C.S.A. 3202, Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, Pennsylvania General Assembly

This "serves one versus serves more than one" test is common, but the exact statutory wording, and what happens when a state has no equivalent statute, both vary by state; check your own condominium or common-interest-ownership act. Where a statute is silent, the declaration controls. Where a statute is mandatory, such as Florida's rule making master-metered water and sewer service a common expense regardless of what the declaration says, the statute overrides the declaration.

Three beliefs that get boards in trouble

"A pipe inside my unit's walls belongs to me." Not necessarily: the test most states use turns on whether the pipe serves only that unit, not on which unit's walls it happens to run through. See Who owns utility infrastructure?

"An exclusive contract can lock our community into one cable or internet provider." A contract clause giving one provider the exclusive right to serve a development, expressly including a gated community, is void under federal rule. Bulk billing itself stays legal; what is banned is the exclusivity clause and undisclosed per-tenant revenue sharing. See Bulk cable/internet.

"There's a standard rule for who pays after a sewer backup." No universal rule was found. Responsibility depends on where the blockage occurred relative to your state's and your declaration's definition of common element versus unit property, and on the specific insurance policies involved. See Sewer backups.