Seattle's condominium stock, from the 1970s buildings on First Hill to the towers in Belltown and the townhouse rows across Ballard and Columbia City, shares a problem: water does not respect unit boundaries. A supply line that fails on the fourth floor wets the third, the second and sometimes the lobby. Sorting out who pays for what is governed by documents most owners have never read.
The three policies
The HOA master policy covers the building. How far into your unit it reaches depends on its type. A bare-walls policy stops at the studs and subfloor; everything you can see inside your unit is yours. An all-in or single-entity policy covers the unit interiors as originally built. The declaration and the policy together define the line, and the master policy carries a deductible that has grown large in many Seattle buildings as water claims have multiplied; associations often assess that deductible to the owners whose units were involved.
Your unit owner policy, the HO-6, covers your unit's interior to the extent the master policy does not, your belongings, your additional living expenses if you have to move out, your liability to others, and, if you carry it, loss assessment coverage for your share of a master policy deductible or assessment.
A renters policy, the HO-4, covers a tenant's belongings, their additional living expenses and their liability. It covers nothing about the building.
How a stacked loss actually gets paid
Each owner reports to their own carrier the same day. Each carrier covers its own insured's loss under its own policy, applies its own deductible, and then looks to recover from whoever was responsible. If the source was a defective supply line that the upstairs owner could not have known about, nobody was negligent and each policy simply pays its own. If the upstairs owner ignored a known leak or left a tub running, their liability coverage ends up reimbursing the others through subrogation.
The association's carrier covers the building elements under the master policy and may assess its deductible to the involved owners under the declaration.
None of this waits for drying. Mitigation starts in every affected unit on day one; the money gets sorted out over the following weeks.
What the declaration says
The declaration, sometimes called the CC&Rs, defines what is a unit and what is a common element, who maintains and insures each, and how deductibles are allocated. Most Seattle declarations place responsibility for a loss originating in a unit's plumbing on that unit's owner, and many allow the board to assess the master deductible to the owner whose unit was the source. Read it, or ask the property manager to point you to the section, before you assume anything.
Why separate documentation matters
A single estimate covering three units and a hallway cannot be approved by three different adjusters, each responsible for a different scope. Restoration crews on multi-unit losses keep a separate moisture map, photo set, drying log and estimate for each unit and for the common elements, so that each carrier sees exactly what it is responsible for and nothing else. If your contractor is treating the whole building as one job, ask for the breakdown.
For owners
Check which type of master policy your building carries and set your HO-6 dwelling coverage accordingly; a bare-walls building with a token dwelling limit leaves you paying for your own kitchen. Add loss assessment coverage. Replace braided supply lines and washing machine hoses on a schedule, because your unit is the floor above someone else's ceiling.
For renters
Carry a renters policy; it is inexpensive and it is the only thing that pays for your belongings. Report water immediately to your landlord and the building, in writing, and photograph your unit. If the leak came from your unit, your liability coverage is what protects you from the neighbors' claims.
