How does an HOA run a dryer vent cleaning program for condos and townhomes?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 26, 2026

How an HOA board runs a dryer vent cleaning program: who owns the duct, fire data, hiring one contractor, unit access notices, who pays and a sample timeline.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Hire one qualified contractor to clean every dryer exhaust duct in the building or community on the same few days, from the back of each dryer to the outside termination, and give each owner a short written report on their duct. Before you sign anything, settle two questions from your declaration and your state's statute: who owns the duct, and who pays for cleaning it. In a condo, a duct that runs through walls and out the roof is often partly the association's problem even when it serves one unit. In a townhome or single-family HOA where each owner owns the building, the program is usually an optional group rate the board arranges. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

Why the board should organize it

Lint is the fuel. The U.S. Fire Administration's report on clothes dryer fires in residential buildings, which looked at fires from 2008 to 2010, estimated about 2,900 such fires a year, causing about 5 deaths, 100 injuries and $35 million in property loss. Failure to clean was the leading factor contributing to ignition, at 34 percent, and dust, fiber and lint were the first thing to catch fire in 28 percent. The same report notes that bird and animal nests and damaged vents can block the exhaust and cause overheating. The data is old, but the physics hasn't changed, and attached housing makes it worse. A dryer on the second floor of a condo might vent through 25 feet of duct inside a wall and out a roof cap no owner can reach. The owner cleans the lint screen and never sees the rest. A fire in one unit's duct can reach an attic shared with its neighbors. One contractor on one schedule also leaves the board with one set of records showing which ducts were cleaned, instead of a guess.

Who owns the duct and who pays

Start with the declaration's maintenance chart. If it names dryer vents, follow it. If it doesn't, the state condo statute usually fills the gap. Texas: Property Code 82.052(2) says that when a duct lies partly inside and partly outside a unit's boundaries, the portion serving only that unit is a limited common element assigned to that unit, and any portion serving more than one unit is a general common element. On cost, section 82.112(d) says that unless the declaration or section 82.107 provides otherwise, upkeep of a limited common element is assessed against all units like any other common expense. Colorado: C.R.S. 38-33.3-202(1)(b) uses nearly the same words to make a single-unit duct a limited common element. Section 38-33.3-315(3)(a) says that, to the extent the declaration requires it, costs for a limited common element are assessed against the units it is assigned to. Florida: section 718.108(1)(b) counts easements through units for ducts and other utility facilities as common elements. Section 718.113(1) makes common element upkeep the association's job, except limited common element upkeep the declaration assigns to the owner, and lets the declaration charge that upkeep to the owners who use it. So the answer turns on your declaration in all three states. Read it with the attorney if it is unclear, and write the board's reading into the motion. In an HOA of townhomes or houses, the duct is part of the owner's home, so cleaning stays the owner's responsibility unless the documents say otherwise. Our guide on who is responsible for repairs, the HOA or the homeowner, covers how to read a maintenance clause.

What to put in the contractor's scope

Ask for the full run in every unit, not just the few feet behind the dryer. The scope should include pulling the dryer out, cleaning the transition duct, brushing and vacuuming the duct run to the termination, clearing the exterior hood or roof cap and any nest, putting everything back, and running the dryer to confirm air is leaving the termination with the flap open. Have the contractor record problems for each unit, with photos, against the residential code your city adopted. Most cities start from the International Residential Code, and its section M1502 covers dryer exhaust. It says the exhaust duct must end outside the building with a backdraft damper and no screen at the termination. The duct itself must be smooth-walled metal, 4 inches nominal, and not joined with screws that stick more than 1/8 inch into the airflow. The transition duct from the dryer must be a single listed length no more than 8 feet long and can't be hidden inside a wall. Unless the dryer maker's instructions or a listed booster fan allow more, the duct is limited to 35 feet, minus an allowance for each elbow. So the report should flag screened or bird-guarded caps, foil or plastic transition hoses, crushed ducts behind the dryer and very long runs. Your city's edition may differ, and stacked condo buildings are often built under a different code with its own dryer duct section, so ask the building department which one applies. Roof and upper-wall terminations mean ladders or lifts. Require a certificate of insurance naming the association, ask whether the contractor carries workers' compensation, and price it per unit, with a separate price for roof caps and repairs so owners can see what they are paying for.

Getting into every unit

The whole program depends on entry, so set it up in writing. Florida section 718.111(5)(a) gives a condo association an irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours when needed to maintain, repair or replace common elements or to prevent damage to them or to a unit. Texas section 82.107(a) and Colorado section 38-33.3-307(1) each require owners to give the association access through their units as reasonably necessary for maintenance and repair. Check your declaration for a notice period and follow it. A notice might read: 'The association will clean every dryer exhaust duct in Building [x] on [dates] between [hours]. A technician from [contractor] will need about [time] in your laundry area. Please clear the space in front of the dryer and have an adult present, or reply by [date] to leave a key with [name]. If your date doesn't work, reply by [date] and we will add you to the makeup day on [date]. You will get a one-page report on your duct afterward. Until then, clean the lint filter before and after each load, as the U.S. Fire Administration recommends.' Plan for two rounds. The first visit always misses some units. Book a makeup day in the contract up front, and send owners who miss both a second written notice.

Paying for it and the motion

Three setups are common. The association pays for all units as a common expense, which is simplest and reaches every unit. The association hires the contractor and charges each unit its share, where the declaration allows it. Or the board negotiates a group rate that owners buy on their own, which is usually the only option in an HOA of houses. Repairs the report turns up, like a new transition duct or a crushed section, are normally the unit owner's cost unless the duct part is a common element the association maintains. If the association pays, add a line to the operating budget and make it a recurring item on the maintenance calendar. Start with an annual cycle and adjust once the first round shows which runs collect the most lint. A motion might read: 'Moved to hire [contractor] to clean dryer exhaust ducts in all [number] units on [dates] at $[amount] per unit plus $[amount] per roof termination, paid from the [line item] budget line, with the contractor to provide a written report and photos for each unit, and with repairs to be quoted to each responsible owner or brought back to the board before any work is done.'

A sample timeline and the mistakes to avoid

Twelve weeks out: read the declaration, decide who pays, and get two or three quotes on the same scope. Eight weeks out: board vote. Collect the certificate of insurance. Six weeks out: first notice to owners with dates and access options. One week out: reminder notice and a list of units that asked for key access. Cleaning days: a board member or manager checks off units as the crew finishes. Two to three weeks later: makeup day. Reports go to each owner, and the board reviews the list of problems the contractor flagged. Next year: repeat, starting with the units that had the worst findings. The common mistakes: paying for a cleaning that stops at the wall behind the dryer and never reaches the roof. Letting the contractor sell repairs door to door without the owner or the board approving a price. Skipping units whose owners didn't answer, which leaves the riskiest ducts dirty. Treating a townhome owner's duct as the association's job without reading the documents, then owning every later repair. And keeping the reports in a manager's inbox instead of the association's records. Our guide on how to schedule HOA fire extinguisher and fire alarm inspections covers the rest of the fire safety calendar.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on fines & violations

Or browse all hoa fines & violations guides.