Sorry I can’t add much certainty, just more informed speculation. Here are some fact-bites gained from my years living in condos in various states and being a condo prez and de-facto manager in FL.
Any relevant laws are state laws. So that means 50 answers (at least) across the USA.
In most states, homeowner’s associations and condo associations are regulated differently; many similarities but also many differences. So the terms are not interchangeable, and much confusion can result from using them that way. Which gets especially important if the OP’s daughter needs to consult the relevant state law as opposed to the bylaws and rules of the Association she bought into.
Legally speaking, a condo association is a flavor of business corporation. It has a constitution (also called a “declaration of condominium”), bylaws, and rules. In that order of precedence from most to least.
The Declaration by whatever name is the document most likely to establish what exactly the unit owners own versus what the Association owns. The exact demarcations are often a mixture of state law and local developer custom.
For example under the doc’s I’m most familiar with, the Association owns the drywall in your unit and you own the paint or wallpaper on the drywall. They own the structural floor and ceiling, and you own the decorative carpet / tile / hardwood / whatever flooring and the ceiling popcorn / paint. They own the pipes and wires in the walls and you own the toilets, sinks, and decorative plates around outlets and switches. etc. It’s generally a violation of the docs for you to work on their stuff or them to work on your stuff.
As well, that’s where you’ll find who’s responsible for maintenance of what. Often it’s a matter of you own it = you maintain it. But sometimes not.
In an enclosed high-rise type building this HVAC arrangement would not be unusual:
With the happy result that although you will be directly paying for the electricity to run the fans that blow air over the heat exchanger coils in your rooms, that’s a pittance compared to paying for the heat or AC capacity the central system provides.
And with the concomitant downside that the heat is not real hot, the cool is not real cool, and the entire building is doing one or the other, not either/both. Your choice is pretty much limited to “on” or “off”. Which in the Midwestern shoulder seasons can often be uncomfortable half the day or night.
Another (slim) possibility is it means each condo unit has an individual 2-part HVAC system with an airhandler / evaporator inside the unit and an exterior compressor outdoors nearby or on the roof. And that those items are owned by = maintained by the Association while their utility consumption is on the individual unit owner.
Without seeing any of the docs, I’d wager the most likely interpretation of the OP’s words:
means that those items are centrally billed to the Association who in turn includes that in the monthly maintenance fee. Although that conflicts with the OP’s statement that
My bottom line: The OP’s daughter has some studying to do.
One thing to be clear about with condos or with HOAs regardless of the niggledy details: Big picture there is only one source of revenue: the owners. So whatever expense we’re talking about, be it electricity, lawn care, or a new roof, either you’re paying for something individually, or you’re paying for it collectively. So if you want to know who’s ultimately paying look in the mirror. Because it’s you.
That’s not a bad thing, but sometimes folks lose sight of that reality.