How do we test and maintain the sump pumps in our HOA building?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 26, 2026

How an HOA board finds every sump pump it owns, tests floats and alarms each quarter, adds battery backup, handles elevator pit pumps and keeps a service log.

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

The short answer

Make a list of every sump pump the association is responsible for, then test each one at least every three months by running water into the pit and watching the pump start, empty the pit and shut off. Check any backup battery once a month. Put a high water alarm on every pit that would flood something expensive, and make sure someone gets the alarm when nobody is in the building. Pumps in elevator pits belong on the elevator contractor's list, not the handyman's. Write every test in a log. Sump pumps fail quietly and then all at once, usually during the storm that knocked the power out, so the whole program is about finding the failure on a dry Tuesday instead. Rules vary by state, city and your governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal or engineering advice.

Find every pump and settle whose it is

Walk the property with your maintenance contractor and open every pit cover. Look in parking garages, mechanical rooms, stairwells that drop below grade, loading areas, clubhouse basements and elevator pits. Some communities also have pumps inside townhomes that drain a foundation tile. For each pit, record the location, the pump make and model, the install date if anyone knows it, the circuit it runs on, whether it has a backup pump or alarm, and where the discharge pipe goes. Then decide who maintains each one, because the default rules differ. In Texas, Property Code section 82.107(a) makes a condominium association responsible for the common elements, but 82.107(b) puts the cost of equipment serving only one unit on that owner unless the declaration says otherwise, even when the equipment sits partly outside the unit. A pump that drains one townhome's basement can fall on the owner; a garage pump that protects everyone's cars is the association's. Florida section 718.113(1) makes maintenance of common elements the association's job except for limited common elements the declaration assigns to owners. Colorado section 38-33.3-307(1) sets the same split as Texas between common elements and units, subject to the declaration. Read your declaration's maintenance chart before you assume, and put the answer next to each pump on the list.

The quarterly test, step by step

The owner's manual for one Zoeller battery backup system tells owners to inspect and test the system at least every three months and to check the battery and its connections at least once a month. That schedule works for primary pumps too. A test takes about ten minutes per pit. First, look into the pit with a flashlight and pull out debris, gravel and anything that could jam the float. Second, run a hose or pour buckets into the pit until the float rises. The pump should start on its own, pull the water down and stop. If you have to lift the float to get it going, the float is sticking or the switch is failing. Third, listen. Grinding or rattling usually means a worn impeller or bearing. Fourth, after the pump stops, watch the water level for a minute. If it climbs back quickly with no new water coming in, the check valve on the discharge line is letting water fall back. Fifth, trip the high water alarm, either by lifting its float or with the test button, and confirm the alarm sounds and the text or call goes out. Sixth, write it down: date, pit, who tested, what happened, and what needs fixing. Have a plumber pull and inspect each pump once a year and replace any pump that fails a test rather than nursing it through another season.

Backup power and alarms

A pump on building power stops when the power stops, and storms bring both rain and outages. FEMA's urban flooding guidance says plainly that sump pumps will not work when the electricity is off, and that you need battery storage or a generator to keep one running in an outage. Its checklist asks owners whether the pump has battery backup, whether there is an alarm for water above the top of the sump, and whether the pump is maintained annually. For a garage or mechanical room pit, ask your plumber to price three options: a battery backup pump in the same pit, a duplex setup with two pumps that alternate, or a circuit on the building's generator if you have one. Zoeller recommends putting the primary pump and the backup controller on separate circuits, so one tripped breaker cannot take out both. Batteries wear out, and the same manual warns that a weak battery can still take a charge; it shows up only as shorter pumping time or on a professional load test. Put a replacement date on every battery when it goes in. On alarms, a buzzer in an empty garage at 3 a.m. helps no one. Choose an alarm that calls or texts at least two people, and test the call chain during the quarterly visit. If your building has a generator, our guide on maintaining and testing an HOA emergency generator covers load tests and fuel.

Elevator pit pumps are a separate case

Water in an elevator pit can damage the equipment, and hydraulic elevators can leak oil into that water. Do not send a handyman into a pit while the car is in service. Ask your elevator maintenance contractor to inspect the pit, the sump and the cover on its regular visits and to note any oil sheen. Washington's Department of Labor and Industries, in a published code clarification, quotes the 2016 edition of the national elevator safety code: section 2.2.2.4 says pit drains and sump pumps, where provided, must comply with the plumbing code and have a positive means to keep water, gases and odors out of the hoistway, and section 2.2.2.6 requires sump covers to be secured and level with the pit floor. The same clarification notes that oil detection, oil separators and discharge location are plumbing questions, not elevator code questions, and states and cities handle them differently. If your pit pump discharges anywhere other than through an approved setup, ask the elevator contractor and a plumber to look at it together, and ask your city what it requires before you change anything.

Where the water goes

Follow every discharge pipe to its end. A pump that empties into a floor drain or a sewer cleanout is usually sending clear groundwater into the sanitary sewer, and many cities ban that. EPA lists basement sump pumps among the illicit connections that let rain and groundwater into sanitary sewers and cause overflows of raw sewage, and it says improper sump pump connections from private homes can add significant flow in some areas. Call the city's water or sewer utility, ask where sump discharge from your building is allowed to go, and fix any connection it says is not allowed. Outside, the pipe should end where the water runs away from the building and off sidewalks and neighbors' lots, not back toward the foundation the pump is draining. In freezing climates, check that the outdoor line cannot freeze shut, because a frozen discharge pipe makes the pump run against a blockage until it burns out. FEMA's basement flooding guidance also recommends backflow or check valves on lines connected to equipment below flood level, with access left so they can be cleaned, since debris can jam them open.

A sample calendar and owner notice

A workable year for a building with three pits: January, April, July and October: quarterly test of every pump and alarm, logged. Each month: battery check on every backup unit, which the maintenance contractor can do on a regular walk-through. Before storm season: annual pump pull and inspection by a plumber, replacement of any pump near the end of its life, and a check of every alarm phone number against the current board and manager list. After any heavy rain or outage: a walk to every pit to confirm the pumps ran and the batteries recharged. For pumps owners maintain, send a reminder once a year. A notice the board can adapt: 'Your home has a sump pump that drains the foundation, and under our declaration its upkeep is the owner's responsibility. Before the rainy season, please pour a bucket of water into the pit and confirm the pump starts and stops on its own, check that the outlet pipe outside is clear, and test any battery backup. If the pump does not run, call a plumber. If water from a failed pump damages a neighbor's unit or the common elements, the cost may be charged to the owner under our documents.' Adjust the last sentence to match what your declaration actually says.

Mistakes boards make with sump pumps

Not knowing a pump exists until it fails. The garage pit behind the storage cage is the one nobody tests. Testing by lifting the float with a stick, which proves the motor runs but not that the float moves freely in water. Trusting a backup battery that has never been load tested. Leaving the alarm wired to a former manager's phone. Letting a pump discharge into a floor drain because that is how the builder left it. Sending the wrong person into an elevator pit. And leaving pumps off the reserve study. Ask your reserve study provider to list each pump, backup unit and alarm panel with a replacement cost and useful life. For the wider program of shutoff valves, hoses and unit checks, see our guide on running an HOA water leak prevention program.

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.

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