Getting Your HOA's Records in Montana

When a Montana board won't explain where the money goes, the records usually hold the answer. Montana's records framework depends on whether your community is a condominium and whether the HOA is incorporated — because the condominium statute is concise and there's no general HOA act. For your specific situation, a licensed Montana attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

What records can a Montana condo owner inspect?

The receipts-and-expenditures records and payment vouchers. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-606, the manager keeps detailed, chronological records of receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements, and they and the vouchers must be available for unit owners to examine at the manager's place of business at convenient weekday hours. No number-of-days deadline is set.

For condominiums under MCA Title 70, Chapter 23, the records provision puts the obligation on the manager and the access at the manager's place of business:

"Such records and the vouchers authorizing the payments and receipts for payments shall be available for examination at the manager's place of business by the unit owners at convenient hours of weekdays." — Mont. Code Ann. § 70-23-606

The statute does not set a number-of-days deadline, and access is at "convenient hours of weekdays" at the manager's place of business. The records the manager must keep are "detailed accurate records in chronological order of the receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements."

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

Yes, if the HOA is incorporated; with no general Montana HOA act, the Nonprofit Corporation Act and the bylaws supply the right. Under MCA § 35-2-907, a member may inspect core records, including the articles, bylaws, and financial statements, after written notice at least 5 business days ahead. Accounting records and board minutes need a good-faith, proper-purpose demand.

Most Montana HOAs are incorporated as nonprofits under the Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act (Title 35, Ch. 2). That layer supplies member rights to inspect corporate records — books of account, minutes, and membership records — subject to the conditions the Act imposes. For HOAs that aren't condominiums, this is the principal records framework, alongside the bylaws.

Two sections are the operative ones. MCA § 35-2-906 lists the records a corporation must keep — including minutes of member and board meetings, accounting records, a membership list, the articles and bylaws, and the financial statements made available to members for the past three years. MCA § 35-2-907 is the member inspection right: a member who "gives the corporation written notice or a written demand at least 5 business days before the date on which the member wishes to inspect and copy" is entitled to inspect and copy the core records listed in § 35-2-906(5), including the articles, bylaws, member-meeting minutes for the past three years, and the financial statements, "at a reasonable time and location specified by the corporation." Accounting records, excerpts of other minutes and action records (such as board minutes), and the membership list are reachable too, but only if the demand is "made in good faith and for a proper purpose," describes the purpose and records with reasonable particularity, and the records are directly connected with that purpose (§ 35-2-907(2)–(3)).

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 against the lot

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 clerk and recorder's office for the property. The bylaws, adopted rules, and fine schedule may or may not be recorded — those typically come from the association under the Nonprofit Corporation Act or the bylaws.

If records are withheld

For incorporated HOAs, the Nonprofit Corporation Act makes member inspection rights enforceable in district court (§ 35-2-909), and when the court orders inspection it must also order the corporation to pay the member's costs, including reasonable attorney fees, unless the corporation proves it refused in good faith because it had a reasonable basis for doubt about the member's right to inspect. Owners commonly put requests in writing (keeping a dated copy), name the records specifically, and consult a licensed Montana attorney for an unresolved refusal.

Sources

• MCA § 70-23-606 — Records of receipts and expenditures; inspection
• MCA § 35-2-906 — Corporate records
• MCA § 35-2-907 — Inspection of records by members
• MCA § 35-2-909 — Court-ordered inspection
• MCA Title 35, Chapter 2 — Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act