Misunderstandings regarding exclusive use areas lead to many avoidable disagreements. Simply put, exclusive use areas are not “your” property, but are a portion of the common area set aside for one member’s use.
Exclusive use common areas are sometimes defined in the Condominium Plan or CC&Rs, but Civil Code 4145 provides a default definition if the governing documents do not fully cover the topic, including: “shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes, and hardware …, screens and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single separate interest, but located outside the boundaries of the separate interest...
If governing documents do not answer the question, the Davis-Stirling Act fills in the blanks. Under Civil Code Section 4775, the association repairs, replaces and maintains common area and repairs and replaces exclusive use common area, and the member maintains exclusive use common area, unless the CC&Rs state otherwise.