Records & TransparencyMN
Getting Your Minnesota HOA's Records
By The HOARebel Team · June 1, 2026 · 3 min read
The Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act gives owners a direct right to see the association's books — and it sets both what must be kept and what an owner can be charged to copy it. For your specific situation, a licensed Minnesota attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The statutory right: Minn. Stat. 515B.3-118
Under 515B.3-118, the association "shall keep adequate records of its membership, unit owners meetings, board of directors meetings, committee meetings, contracts, leases and other agreements to which the association is a party, and material correspondence and memoranda relating to its operations." Those records, with one narrow exception, "shall be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner or the unit owner's authorized agent."
The right runs to the owner or the owner's authorized agent, which matters when an attorney or family member does the reviewing.
Copies, formats, and fees
The statute addresses how copies are provided and what they cost. The association "must provide copies in paper or electronic form as requested by the owner or authorized agent," though it is not required to produce electronic copies of records it does not keep electronically. On price, the statute allows the association to recover the actual costs of making or transmitting copies and of searching for and retrieving records — but it sets a hard ceiling for ordinary requests: where "100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter or legal size paper copies are requested," the charge is "no more than 25 cents for each page copied." That cap is a useful check on a board that treats copying fees as a barrier.
What the association may withhold
515B.3-118 carves out a single category from the inspection right: records "relating to information that was the basis for closing a board meeting under section 515B.3-103, paragraph (g)." Paragraph (g) lets a board close a meeting for personnel matters, pending or potential litigation and other adversarial proceedings, and certain criminal-activity matters. The exception is narrow — it is tied to the lawful reasons a board may meet in closed session, not a general right to keep documents secret.
What owners commonly request
People reviewing the association's books often look at:
- Annual budgets, reserve studies, and financial statements
- Bank statements, vendor contracts, and bids
- The declaration, bylaws, adopted rules, and any fine schedule
- Board and member meeting minutes and notices
- Assessment statements and lien notices for 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 and any amendments are also available from the county recorder (or registrar of titles for Torrens property). Because the recorded declaration is what created the community and the association's lien framework, it is often the first document owners obtain.
If records are withheld
Owners commonly put requests in writing, cite 515B.3-118, identify the records specifically, and keep a copy of the request and any response. Because most associations are nonprofit corporations, the member-inspection provisions of the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act (ch. 317A) may apply alongside MCIOA. If a refusal appears unjustified, a licensed Minnesota attorney can explain the available remedies.