Getting Your HOA's Records in Maine

When a Maine board won't explain where the money goes, the records usually hold the answer. Where your records rights come from depends on whether your community is a condominium or a non-condominium HOA, and whether the association is incorporated. For your specific situation, a licensed Maine attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

What records can a Maine condo owner inspect?

Those the Condominium Act requires the association to keep. Under 33 M.R.S. §1603-118, they include receipts and expenditures for the past 6 years, financial statements and tax returns for the past 3 years, owner and board minutes (other than executive sessions), and current contracts, open to examination and copying on 10 days' written notice reasonably identifying the specific records requested.

For condominiums, the Maine Condominium Act requires the association to keep records and make them available to unit owners. Section 1603-118 ("Association records") lists the records the association must retain — including receipts and expenditures for the past 6 years, financial statements and tax returns for the past 3 years, minutes of unit-owner and board meetings (other than executive sessions), and current contracts — and makes them available for examination and copying by a unit owner or the owner's authorized agent, during reasonable business hours or at a mutually convenient time and location, "Upon 10 days' notice in writing reasonably identifying the specific records of the association requested" (§1603-118(b)). Some categories, such as personnel records, matters in litigation, attorney-client communications, and executive-session records, may be withheld (§1603-118(c)), and the association may charge a reasonable fee for copies and for supervising the inspection (§1603-118(d)). Under §1601-102(a), this section also applies to condominiums created before 1983, for events and circumstances after January 1, 1983. The statute frames this as an owner right, not a favor the board grants.

Do non-condo HOAs have to let owners see records in Maine?

It depends on incorporation and the bylaws. Most non-condo Maine HOAs are nonprofit corporations, and under 13-B M.R.S. §715(1), an officer, director, or voting member may inspect and copy books and records for any proper purpose at any reasonable time, after written notice at least 5 business days ahead. Proper purpose is narrowly defined for voting members.

Most non-condominium HOAs are incorporated as nonprofits under the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act (13-B M.R.S.). Under 13-B M.R.S. §715(1), any officer, director, or voting member (or their agent or attorney) may inspect and copy the corporation's books and records "for any proper purpose at any reasonable time," after giving the corporation "written notice at least 5 business days before the date on which" they wish to inspect. For a voting member, the statute defines the only proper purpose as enabling the member to fulfill duties and responsibilities conferred on members by the articles, the bylaws, or law, and the corporation may charge the reasonable cost of copies. If a corporation refuses, §715(2) allows the Superior Court to order inspection. For HOAs that aren't condominiums, this is the principal records framework, alongside whatever the bylaws provide.

What owners commonly request

People reviewing the association's books often look at:

• The annual budget, reserves, and financial statements
• Bank statements and vendor contracts
• The declaration, bylaws, adopted rules, and any fine schedule
• Board and member meeting minutes and notices
• The current statement of any assessment or charge against the unit

Records frequently feed other disputes — questioning a fine or the assessment lien usually starts with the underlying documents.

For the recorded documents themselves

The recorded declaration is always available from the county registry of deeds for the property. The bylaws, adopted rules, and fine schedule may or may not be recorded — those typically come from the association under the Condominium Act, the Nonprofit Corporation Act, or the bylaws.

If records are withheld

Owners commonly put requests in writing (keeping a dated copy), name the records specifically, and consult a licensed Maine attorney about an unresolved refusal — under the Condominium Act for condos, or the Nonprofit Corporation Act for incorporated HOAs.

Sources

• 33 M.R.S. §1603-118 — Association records
• 33 M.R.S. Ch. 31 — Maine Condominium Act (table of contents)
• 13-B M.R.S. — Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act
• 13-B M.R.S. §715 — Books and records
• 33 M.R.S. §1601-102 — Applicability