Getting Your HOA's Records in Mississippi

When a Mississippi board won't explain where the money goes, the records can show it — but the legal route to them depends on how the HOA is organized. With no general HOA statute, the main sources are the Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act (§§ 79-11-101 et seq.) and the governing documents. For your specific situation, a licensed Mississippi attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Do Mississippi HOAs have to let owners see records?

Yes, if the HOA is incorporated as a nonprofit; no Mississippi HOA or condo statute grants the right. Under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, Miss. Code Ann. § 79-11-285 lets members inspect and copy corporate records at a reasonable time and location the corporation specifies, on at least five business days' written notice. Otherwise, access depends on the governing documents.

If the HOA is organized as a Mississippi nonprofit corporation, the Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act controls member inspection rights. Under § 79-11-285, members have the right to inspect and copy corporate records "at a reasonable time and location specified by the corporation," on at least five business days' written notice. For accounting records, the membership list, and excerpts of board minutes and other § 79-11-283(1) records, the member must also describe "with reasonable particularity the purpose and the records the member desires to inspect" (§ 79-11-285(3)(b)).

Section 79-11-287 adds related rules — including that a member's attorney or other agent has the same inspection and copying rights, that the right to copy includes, "if reasonable, the right to receive copies," and that a "reasonable charge, covering the costs of labor and material" for copies "may not exceed the estimated cost of production or reproduction of the records." Which records are available is set by § 79-11-285: the § 79-11-283(5) list under subsection (1), and board-minute excerpts, accounting records, and the membership list under subsection (2).

For the governing documents themselves

Whether incorporated or not, a recorded declaration is part of the county land records. The bylaws, board-adopted rules, and any fine schedule may or may not be recorded — those may be obtained from the association itself under the bylaws' member-inspection provisions or, if the HOA is a nonprofit corporation, under § 79-11-285 (bylaws are a § 79-11-283(5) record; board rules generally reach members as board-minute excerpts under § 79-11-285(2)).

Does Mississippi's condo law give owners a right to records?

No. The Mississippi Condominium Law requires a recorded declaration under Miss. Code Ann. § 89-9-17, but it creates no separate owner records right, and Mississippi has no general HOA statute that does. The declaration may provide for an independent audit of the accounts, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act still controls if the condo association is a nonprofit corporation.

For condominiums, the Mississippi Condominium Law requires the developer to record a declaration of restrictions "prior to the conveyance of any condominium" (§ 89-9-17), but it does not create a separate owner records right; the declaration may provide "[f]or independent audit of the accounts of any management body" (§ 89-9-17(4)). The Nonprofit Corporation Act still controls if the condo association is a nonprofit corporation.

What owners may request

Items owners may ask about include:

• The budget, reserves, and financial statements
• Bank statements and vendor contracts
• The declaration, bylaws, adopted rules, and any fine schedule
• Member-meeting minutes and notices
• The current statement of any pending assessment

Records can also bear on other disputes, such as questioning a fine or a lien.

Do I need a proper purpose to see my Mississippi HOA's records?

For incorporated HOAs, it depends on the record; no Mississippi HOA or condo statute grants a records right. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 79-11-285(3), core records need only written notice, but accounting records, the membership list, board-minute excerpts and other § 79-11-283(1) records also require a good-faith demand for a proper purpose, described with reasonable particularity.

Mississippi's statute splits records into two groups. Core records — the articles, bylaws, board resolutions on members' rights and qualifications, member-meeting minutes and communications to members for the past three years, the director and officer list, and the latest annual report (§ 79-11-283(5)) — require only the written notice. Accounting records, the membership list, and excerpts of board minutes and other § 79-11-283(1) records also require a demand "made in good faith and for a proper purpose," with records "directly connected with this purpose" (§ 79-11-285(3)(a), (c)). Because subsection (3)(b) calls for reasonable particularity, a request that names specific records (for example, board minutes for a set period or the accounting records for a given year) matches the statute's wording more closely than an open-ended demand.

If records are withheld

Section 79-11-285 gives members the inspection right and sets its conditions; § 79-11-287 covers agents, copies, and copying charges. Section 79-11-289 covers refusals. For § 79-11-283(5) records, the chancery court "may summarily order inspection and copying of the records demanded at the corporation's expense upon application of the member" (§ 79-11-289(1)); for the other records, the court "shall dispose of an application under this subsection on an expedited basis" (§ 79-11-289(2)). If the court orders inspection, it "shall also order the corporation to pay the member's costs (including reasonable attorney's fees)" unless the corporation shows it refused in good faith because it "had a reasonable basis for doubt about the right of the member to inspect the records demanded" (§ 79-11-289(3)), and it may restrict how the member uses the records (§ 79-11-289(4)). For an unresolved refusal, a licensed Mississippi attorney is the right resource.

Sources

• Mississippi Code — official public access (Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act, §§ 79-11-101, 79-11-283, 79-11-285, 79-11-287, 79-11-289)
• Mississippi Code — official public access (Mississippi Condominium Law, § 89-9-17)