For planned communities, KRS § 381.795 gives you the right to examine and copy the association's books, records, and minutes, subject to reasonable standards the declaration, bylaws, or board rules set for the type of documents, copying, and the time and place of examination, plus a reasonable copying fee. That right isn't unlimited: subsection (2) carves out five categories the board can withhold unless it chooses to approve access anyway, personnel matters, attorney-client communications and litigation work product, contracts or transactions under active negotiation, information tied to collecting assessments or listing past-due owners, and anything disclosure of which state or federal law itself prohibits. Outside those five categories, the default is access, not secrecy.
Pair that with the recordkeeping duties in KRS § 381.790(3): the association has to keep complete financial records, records of payments received from owners, records of payments made to contractors and service providers, meeting minutes for both the association and the board, and a current list of owner names and mailing addresses. And KRS § 381.794 requires an actual financial report, on a sliding scale tied to the association's revenue, from a bare cash-receipts-and-disbursements statement for smaller associations up to a full CPA audit for associations over one million dollars in annual revenue, prepared within one hundred eighty days after the fiscal year ends and made available within thirty days after that.
Condos get a plainer promise, on paper
If you own a condo unit, KRS § 381.9197 is written more simply: financial and other records "shall be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner and his or her authorized agents," without the five-category exceptions list the HOA statute carries. The condo financial-report sliding scale is set at different, generally lower revenue thresholds than the HOA version, cash-receipts statements under $100,000, a compilation between $100,000 and $250,000, a review between $250,000 and $500,000, and a full audit at $500,000 or more, and the report is due within one hundred fifty days after the fiscal year ends, thirty days sooner than the HOA deadline. Whether that plainer statutory language actually translates into faster, fuller answers from your board is a separate question worth testing directly.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
KRS § 381.795
Gives planned-community owners the right to examine and copy the association's books, records, and minutes, subject to reasonable standards and five specific exceptions.
KRS § 381.794
Requires an annual financial report on a revenue-based sliding scale, prepared within 180 days of fiscal year-end and made available within 30 days after that.
KRS § 381.9197
Requires a condo association to keep detailed financial records and make them, and other records, reasonably available for examination by any unit owner, plus its own revenue-based financial-report sliding scale.
Step by step
How to request HOA or condo records in Kentucky
A clean, statute-anchored records request that invokes KRS § 381.795 (HOA) or KRS § 381.9197 (condo) and preserves your ability to escalate.
- 01
Put your request in writing and date it
Email or mail a dated, written request. That record matters if the association stalls or produces nothing.
- 02
List the specific documents
Ask for the financial report, the current budget, board and association meeting minutes, and the association's recordkeeping under KRS § 381.790(3) (HOA) or its financial records under § 381.9197 (condo).
- 03
Cite the statute and, for HOAs, name the exception if they raise one
If your HOA denies part of the request, ask exactly which of the five categories in KRS § 381.795(2) it's relying on. A vague refusal that can't name a category is weak.
- 04
Check the financial-report clock
Confirm whether the annual report is overdue: 180 days after fiscal year-end for HOAs (§ 381.794), 150 days for condos (§ 381.9197), plus 30 days to actually distribute it once prepared.
- 05
Escalate a denial in writing
If the board ignores the request or claims an exception it can't identify, respond in writing citing the statute directly. Kentucky has no state regulator to appeal to, so a clear paper trail is your leverage if this ends up in court.
Straight answers
Common questions
What HOA records am I entitled to see in Kentucky?
Under KRS § 381.795, you can examine and copy the association's books, records, and minutes, subject to reasonable standards in your declaration, bylaws, or board rules, and except for five specific categories: personnel matters, attorney-client communications, contracts under active negotiation, collection-related information about past-due owners, and anything legally protected from disclosure.
Is the condo records right different?
It reads more broadly on paper. KRS § 381.9197 says financial and other records "shall be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner," without the exceptions list the HOA statute includes.
Can the association charge me for copies?
For HOAs, yes, a reasonable copying fee is allowed under § 381.795(1). Inspection itself is your statutory right; the fee only applies to producing copies.
How often does the association have to produce a financial report?
HOAs must prepare one within 180 days of the fiscal year's end and distribute it within 30 days after that, under KRS § 381.794. Condos work on a similar structure but a 150-day preparation deadline under § 381.9197. Both scale the report's rigor, from a cash statement up to a full audit, to the association's annual revenue.