Homeowner Association Document Inspection

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:34:17 -0500

As a member and resident of a homeowners association, I attend an occasional meeting of the Board of Directors to better understand the administration and operation of my community. Board meetings are open to the membership and the Board will often take questions from those attending. Boards also distribute information such as meeting minutes, audits and newsletters in the spirit of openness. We all expect that. There are times when I prefer to view other association documents held in the office of the association. The question - how do I obtain access? Well, why not just call up the President or manager and request that the documents be sent to me?

If I did, I probably would be advised of the requirements of the State of South Carolina statutes:

Written notice at least 5 business days before the desired date to inspect.
Demand to inspect is made in good faith and for proper purpose, describes with reasonable particularity the purpose, and the records are directly connected with this purpose.
A document may be copied.
A charge for copying a document may be imposed.

The requester will have to visit the facility where the documents are stored particularly for association’s having professional management. Other arrangements would have to be made for self managed associations.

I also find that a community association can be compared to a private corporation versus a public government, and thus a request for records does not have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.

Whether a homeowner agrees or disagrees with the above, the best result for the homeowner – to acquire desired documents - comes with complying with the State statutes.

Coldwell Banker Chicora Blog

Homeowner Association Document Inspection