Procedures for Requesting HOA Records

As we prepare managers, management companies and HOA boards to comply with the HOA records bill (“HB 1237”) when it signed into law and becomes effective on January 1, 2013, we have covered: (1) records which must be maintained by HOAs and produced to owners upon request; (2) records that may be withheld from production to owners; (3) records which must be withheld from production to owners; and (4) restrictions which members of HOAs must follow when utilizing membership lists

Today we are going to cover procedures which HOAs will be permitted to utilize in obtaining and processing record requests from owners. Here’s what you need to know: 

 

●All of the records outlined in our May 17th posting, must be available for examination and copying by an owner or the owner’s authorized agent. HOAs can certainly require that anyone acting as an owner’s authorized agent provide written proof that the owner has actually designated that individual as their authorized agent.

●HOAs are permitted to require owners to submit a written request for records which reasonably describes the records they are seeking to inspect and/or copy. HOAs can require that this written request for records be submitted at least 10 days prior to the inspection or production of the records and may limit the inspection and production of records to normal business hours or the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board – assuming that meeting occurs within 30 days after the request. 

 

●Regardless of what the governing documents say, HOAs will not be permitted to require owners to submit a “proper purpose” to the association prior to being permitted to inspect or copy records. 

  

Continue to stay tuned to this blog for an update when Governor Hickenlooper signs HB 1237 into law and for information on what associations can charge for assembling and copying records.