The Horizontal Property Act's records provision is one sentence with real teeth for its size. Under § 18-13-110, whoever administers the building must keep a book with a detailed account of the receipts and expenditures affecting the property, and that book — together with the vouchers backing its entries — 'shall be available for examination by all the co-owners at convenient hours on working days that shall be set and announced for general knowledge.' Note what that requires: not just the book but the underlying vouchers (invoices, receipts — the paper behind each entry), and not access at the manager's whim but at hours the association must set and announce to everyone. An association with no announced examination hours is already out of compliance; say so in writing when you ask.
There's no response deadline, no copy-cost rule, and no penalty clause — Arkansas gives you the right without the enforcement machinery, so the practical lever is a dated written request that quotes the section and proposes specific dates. For subdivision HOAs the chapter doesn't apply at all, but two other sources do. If the association is an Arkansas nonprofit corporation — nearly all are — the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 requires corporate records to be kept and gives members inspection rights to the corporate books through the framework of Ark. Code §§ 4-33-101 et seq.; a written member demand citing the corporation's own act, plus its bylaws' records clauses, is the standard opening. And the minute book the bylaws must establish under § 18-13-108 (condos) is itself an examination target: decisions require a 51% majority, and the minute book is where you verify one happened.
The courthouse file no board can close
Every document that actually governs you is recorded with the county circuit clerk and recorder, because Arkansas law makes recording the price of enforceability: the master deed and its plans (§§ 18-13-103 to 18-13-105), the condo bylaws recorded with it (§ 18-13-108), and the subdivision's bill of assurance with every amendment. Pull certified copies directly from the county — no association cooperation required — and compare them against whatever version the board circulates. In a state where the recorded documents are the entire source of association power, the courthouse copy is not background reading; it's the authoritative text of every rule that binds you, and discrepancies between it and the board's working version decide disputes.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Ark. Code § 18-13-110
The condo book of receipts and expenditures, with its backing vouchers, must be open to examination by all co-owners at convenient hours on working days the association must set and announce.
Ark. Code §§ 4-33-101 et seq.
The Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 — the corporate records, meetings, and member-rights framework for incorporated HOAs, and the statute a written member inspection demand runs through.
Ark. Code § 18-13-108
Requires recorded bylaws and a minute book where co-owner resolutions are recorded — the examination target for verifying whether the 51% majority a decision needed actually existed.
Step by step
How to get association records in Arkansas
A practical path to the books in a state with an examination right but no deadline machinery.
- 01
Ask for the announced examination hours
For a condo, request in writing the association's set-and-announced hours for examining the book of receipts and expenditures under § 18-13-110. If none exist, note that the statute requires them — that alone usually produces a date.
- 02
Examine the vouchers, not just the book
The statute covers the vouchers backing each entry. Compare invoices against ledger entries and the budget — the gap between what was spent and what was recorded is where problems live.
- 03
Make a corporate demand (HOAs)
If your association is incorporated, send a written member demand for the corporate records — minutes, financial statements, membership list as permitted — citing the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 and the association's own bylaws. Date it and keep proof of delivery.
- 04
Pull the recorded set from the county
Get the master deed or bill of assurance, plans, bylaws, and all amendments from the circuit clerk and recorder. These are public records; they're also the only versions that legally bind you.
- 05
Build the paper trail for escalation
Arkansas gives you no statutory penalty for stonewalling, so the leverage is a documented record of requests and silence — the exhibit for a court, and often persuasion enough for a board's attorney who knows the inspection right is real.
Straight answers
Common questions
What records am I entitled to see as an Arkansas condo owner?
The book of detailed receipts and expenditures and the vouchers behind its entries, at convenient hours on working days the association must set and announce — § 18-13-110. The recorded master deed, plans, and bylaws are public at the county regardless.
Is there a deadline for the association to respond?
No — Arkansas sets no response clock and no penalty. The practical play is a dated written request quoting the statute and proposing dates, building the record a court (or the board's own counsel) will eventually weigh.
What can subdivision HOA members get?
The chapter doesn't cover you, but incorporated associations answer to the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993's records framework and their own bylaws, and the bill of assurance with every amendment is a public county record. Between the corporate demand and the courthouse, most of what matters is reachable.
The board's 'rules' don't match the recorded documents. Which wins?
The recorded version. In Arkansas, association power exists only as granted by the recorded master deed, bylaws, or bill of assurance — and unrecorded amendments or informal policies don't bind owners. Certified county copies are the authoritative text.