What is a records request?

Members generally have a right to inspect the association's books and records — financials, minutes, contracts, the roster in some form, and governing documents. What is included, how quickly it must be produced, what may be charged for copies, and what must be withheld are all state-specific.

There are near-universal exclusions: attorney-client privileged material, matters properly discussed in executive session, personnel files, and individual owner account and personal information. Producing those creates a different problem than withholding them.

Requests sometimes arrive as the opening move in a dispute. That is not a reason to slow-walk one — delay is the fact most likely to convert a records question into a lawsuit.