Records & TransparencyPA
Getting Your Pennsylvania HOA's Records
By The HOARebel Team · June 1, 2026 · 2 min read
The Uniform Planned Community Act gives Pennsylvania owners a right to the association's financial records — and, unusually, a state agency to turn to when that right is ignored. For your specific situation, a licensed Pennsylvania attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The statutory right: 68 Pa.C.S. § 5316
Under § 5316, the association must keep financial records, and those records "shall be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner and authorized agents." The right runs to the owner or an authorized agent, so an attorney or family member can do the reviewing.
The statute also requires real reporting. An association with 12 or more units must prepare an annual financial statement within 180 days after the close of its fiscal year. An owner may request a copy, and the association must provide it within 30 days. On cost, the statute keeps it modest: "[t]he association may charge a fee not to exceed the cost of producing copies of records other than the financial statement."
Pennsylvania's Attorney General backstop
What makes § 5316 stand out is the enforcement route it builds in. If the association fails to provide the required statement or "denies reasonable access" to its financial records within 30 days of a written request, the owner may "file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General." That gives Pennsylvania owners a state-agency option that owners in many other states do not have — a meaningful lever when a board simply stonewalls.
What owners commonly request
People reviewing the association's books often look at:
- Annual budgets, reserve studies, and the annual financial statement
- Bank statements, vendor contracts, and bids
- The declaration, bylaws, adopted rules, and any fine schedule
- Board and member meeting minutes and notices
- Assessment ledgers 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 amendments are available from the county Recorder of Deeds. Because the recorded declaration is what created the community and its assessment-and-lien framework, it is often the first document owners obtain.
What people generally do
Owners seeking Pennsylvania records often:
- Put the request in writing, cite § 5316, and identify the records specifically
- Calendar the 30-day window, after which the Attorney General complaint route opens
- Keep a copy of the request and any response
- Consult a licensed Pennsylvania attorney if a refusal appears unjustified, since the Nonprofit Corporation Law may supply additional member-inspection rights