Fee Fight At Tustin Condo Complex

TUSTIN (CBSLA) — People who live in an Orange County condo complex were worried about a huge fee they have less than two weeks to pay.

As KCAL9/CBS2's Craig Herrera reports, the problem is their garages and they are not up to code.

The garages were once carports and they were converted more than 30 years ago. The city came by to do some other work and noticed it and said "yeah, you gotta get that fixed" and sent out some notices.

The 184-unit Tustin Place is on Mitchell Avenue not far from the freeway.

"It's very upsetting," said homeowner John Sprague. "It's very stressful and it's going to give my wife a heart attack."

Sprague has lived at the condo complex since 1992. His wife has lived there since the 1970s.

The letter says all homeowners have to pay $6,000 by Jan. 2. The reason? To fix up work not done to code.

"They used to be carports," said Sprague. "They should go after the contractors that made these. But instead they go after the homeowners."

They pay $300 in homeowners association dues and some homeowners say there is no money left to pay for the fix.

"I don't know what they want us to fix. My garage is in good condition," said Maninder Sing. "If they want something that's OK but that's asking for a lot of money now."

KCAL9/CBS2 reached out to the homeowners association. They refused to comment and referred questions to the attorney representing the HOA. The HOA has not commented yet.

The homeowners have been given an extension -- six months to come up with six grand.