HOA Homefront – Requests for HOA Information (Part 2)

Q: I attended my first HOA meeting and I noticed that the format is slightly different from city council meetings. Board members were provided a lengthy document prepared by management, containing specific details on water usage, maintenance requests, and detailed financials. I queried if the report was available, and was told no, they are only provided to board members. In city council meetings, documents that don’t violate confidentiality or executive session privilege must be made available for review in advance of the meeting. Does the Davis-Stirling Act require something similar?
— D. R., Ventura
A: Civil Code Section 5200 includes a long list of “association records” that HOAs must produce upon member request. A typical board meeting packet, prepared by the manager to inform the board prior to its meeting, may contain documents that are included in the list, but the board packet itself is not a document that is required to be shared with all members. HOAs, even the largest ones, do not have the same resources as cities, and the requirements of the Davis-Stirling Act on community associations are not as strict as the Government Code requirements applicable to public agencies. Board packets can be anywhere from 20-100 pages for most HOA board meetings, so the cost of distributing them would be prohibitive. Furthermore, the audience doesn’t need the board packet in advance, since the board and not the audience is deliberating. However, documents may be identified during the deliberations that are “Association records” which you can later request to see.

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