Condo Board Member Charged for Association Records Inspection

R. from Hartford County, Connecticut writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Should a board member have to pay a fee to see association records? For instance, 1099-NECs to find out if they were filed properly or if at all, or copy of insurance contract applications (to see if there were material misrepresentations made). Or see all e-votes which have not been provided to unit owners to get a better idea of what has been done? Or does a board member (especially if also an officer position with responsibilities) have a right to see any documents without having to go through long delays and fees.

Mister Condo replies:

R., association records may be inspected by any member of the association. A fee may be charged in accordance with state law and governing documents although many governing documents make no mention of the fee for inspection. While you do have a seat at the table as a Board member when association documents first surface at a Board meeting, once they are archived, the management company certainly has the right to impose a fee for producing those records for inspection. That being said, I would question the wisdom of a management company charging a fee to a Board member seeing as that Board member has a vote on whether or not to continue using that management company when their contract comes up for renewal. I am not aware of any additional rights you have as a Board member when it comes to document inspection. However, I would suggest you word your next management agreement such as that a record inspection fee be waived for Board members. Of course, it is also upon you not to abuse such an agreement. Pulling old records can be time and labor intensive for the management company. You both need to respect each other’s time. All the best!