Records & TransparencyUT
Getting Your Utah HOA's Records
By The HOARebel Team · June 1, 2026 · 2 min read
Utah's records statute is one of the most owner-friendly in the country. Not because the inspection right is broader than other states' — many state acts grant similar inspection rights — but because Utah attaches a concrete dollar penalty when the board ignores the request. For your specific situation, a licensed Utah attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The statutory right: Utah Code § 57-8a-227
Under § 57-8a-227, lot owners may request to inspect or copy association records. The statute is flexible about format: owners may "view and copy records in person (including bringing any necessary imaging equipment), receive records electronically, or receive hard copies of records."
The dollar penalty
What sets Utah apart is the enforcement provision. If the association fails to comply with a records request, it "shall pay $25 to the lot owner for each day the request continues unfulfilled, beginning the sixth day after the day on which the lot owner made the request." That dollar penalty changes the incentive calculus: a board that stalls for two months has racked up roughly $1,375 owed to the requesting owner. It is not a theoretical claim — it is a statutory amount the owner can recover.
The clock runs from the date of the request, so written and dated requests matter.
Caps on copying costs
The statute also keeps copying affordable. If the association produces copies or electronic scans, the lot owner pays "the reasonable cost of the copies or electronic scans and for time spent meeting with the lot owner," which "may not exceed either the actual cost that the association paid to a recognized third party duplicating service or 10 cents per page and $15 per hour for the employee's time." A board that charges far more than that has a problem of its own.
Required free access through a website
If the association has an active website, it must make certain core documents available to lot owners through the website free of charge. Associations without an active website must make physical copies available during regular business hours at the address registered with the Utah Department of Commerce. That last detail — the registered address — is itself useful, because every Utah association must be reachable somewhere.
What owners commonly request
People reviewing the association's books in Utah 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 ledgers and any collection or lien notices for the lot
- Records related to a pending fine or the assessment lien
What people generally do
Owners seeking Utah records often put the request in writing, identify the records specifically, cite § 57-8a-227, and date the request. If no response arrives by day five, the statutory $25-per-day penalty begins accruing on day six. A licensed Utah attorney can confirm what the owner can recover, and the path to recover it if the board doesn't comply.