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INSPECTION OF RECORDS
October 1, 2002
At some point-in-time, a community association will receive
a request to inspect and/or produce records of the
operations and management of the association. The
Condominium Act (Chapter 718), Cooperative Act (Chapter
719) and the Homeowners Association Act (Chapter 720) all
provide for and instruct the association how to allow
owners to inspect official records of the association. In
all three cases, the statutes define what constitutes the
official records of the association. The statutes provide
detailed lists of the records that should be retained by
the association and made available for owners and their
authorized representatives to inspect and copy.
The Condominium and Cooperative Acts exempts certain legal
records, legal opinions, rental and resale approval
information and medical records of unit owners are exempt
from inspection by unit owners. These official records are
open for inspection at all reasonable times for any
association member and or their authorized representative.
The right to inspect also allows the member to make or
obtain copies of the records at a reasonable expense as
well. The association is allowed to make reasonable rules
concerning the frequency, time, location, manner of
inspection and copying.
These rules would help prevent a unit owner from
unreasonably frequent requests to see and inspect records.
An association would be wise to consult with their
association’s attorney for guidance in these manners and to
provide help in determining what rules would be reasonable.
In addition to the above, the association is also allowed
to impose reasonable fees and costs for providing copies of
the official records, including the costs of copying. The
association is also required to maintain an adequate number
of copies of the recorded governing documents, in order to
ensure their availability to members of the association and
any prospective members. The association may charge for
the actual costs of reproducing these copies. In addition
to providing the recorded documents, Condominiums and
Cooperatives also should have the articles of
incorporation, bylaws, rules, all amendments and question
and answer sheets. PLEASE NOTE: Real estate brokers are
now required to provide the association’s last year-end
financial statement to their buyers. Therefore, it would
also be wise to have copies of these available as well.
According to these statutes, the records must be made
available within ten (10) days after receipt of written
request by a unit owner and or their authorized
representative. Failure to provide access to the records
within ten (10) business days after receipt of the request
will allow an owner to actual damages or minimum damages
for their failure to comply with this section. Minimum
damages are $50.00 per calendar day, up to ten (10) days
and can be calculated as of the 11th business day after
receipt of the written request.
Associations are required to provide for access to the
association’s records, but they should enact reasonable
rules to help control the process and flow of written
information from the association to the unit owner who
requests detailed records.
Enact these rules and regulations now concerning inspection
and copying of records in order to avoid any problems in
the future.
Copyright 2007© Associated Property Management of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
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