A South Florida teacher says her [homeowner’s association] is threatening her with fines for damage to a sidewalk. The problem? She didn’t cause the damage; the city did. That’s when she called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Katya Barrett has spent nearly three decades shaping young minds.
Katya Barrett: “I teach elementary in Miami-Dade County Public Schools at William J Bryan Elementary and I have been teaching now for 27 years.”
After a long day of teaching, she loves to return to her quiet community in Miramar.
A few years ago, she says, city crews came to her home to repair a pipe under the sidewalk. They had to break up the concrete to get it done.
The city promised to fix the sidewalk, and months later, they did.
Katya Barrett: “They did follow through on their promise. However, whoever they hired to do that did not do a good job because not too much later, the concrete area of the sidewalk began to sink.”
The sinking caused a bump. Katya says her homeowner’s association told her she had to fix it.
Katya Barrett: “So now the association wants me to pay for fixing the sidewalk, and that’s a huge cost for me as a teacher.”
She contacted the city, asking officials to come back and make the repairs. She was told that because her home is part of an association, it was their responsibility.
Katya Barrett: “They’ve just been like, ‘Nope. You live in an association, the association should be taking care of that.’”
Katya then called the HOA. They said since the sidewalk is in front of her home, the problem was hers to take care of.
Katya Barrett: “Where the association is saying, ‘Well, according to the contract and bylaws, you’re responsible for the perimeter of your home and everything thereof.’ So it’s a back-and-forth. Where all I did was allow the city to come and repair whatever pipe that they had to repair.”
Meanwhile, the letters threatening fines kept coming.
Katya Barrett: “And then the association is sending me multiple threatening letters about being fined, charges, and things of that nature when all I want is the sidewalk to be repaired.”
Katya was frustrated.
Katya Barrett: “It makes me feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it was something I did on my property, of course I’m expected to be responsible to repair it as soon as possible. However, I did not. The city is the one who came and did the changes and made the damage to the property.”
Howard, it was the city’s job. Who’s responsible for the repair?
Howard Finkelstein: “The city had the right to make the repairs, but they also had an obligation to do them correctly. If they damage someone’s property, they have to repair it to the state it was in before they damaged it. If the sidewalk was in compliance with the HOA before the repairs, it has to remain in compliance afterwards.”
We reached out to both the city and the association.
The HOA telling us: despite their earlier demand saying Katya must repair the sidewalk, they were now “Open to coordinating with the City of Miramar if the sidewalk condition is related to prior city work.”
Then the city told us: “Our team is coordinating the necessary work to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible.”
Within hours, workers were at Katya’s home inspecting the sidewalk. A few days later, the sidewalk was repaired.
Katya Barrett: “The City of Miramar actually came out. They examined the sidewalk, and they decided to make the necessary changes.”
Katya says she didn’t know where to turn. We’re glad she thought of us.
Katya Barrett: “Thank goodness for Help Me Howard! I would not be able to get through.”
A lot of times, it’s just knowing the right department to get in contact with. If you’re having a hard time with that, you can always give us a call.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Below is how to find us. It’s Help Me Howard, I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Brandon Beyer at bbeyer@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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