Chapter 183A gives Massachusetts condo owners more than most owners realize. Under § 10(c), the organization of unit owners, or its manager, if it has one, has to keep a true copy of the recorded master deed and bylaws, a minute book (to the extent minutes are kept, and it must be made available to unit owners by email on request), and detailed financial records: receipts and expenditures, invoices and vouchers, the replacement reserve fund and other fund records, audits and financial reports, contracts for work or services, and current insurance policies. Those records have to be kept up to date within Massachusetts and made available for reasonable inspection by any unit owner, or any mortgagee holding a recorded first mortgage, during regular business hours, with the right to photocopy at your own expense.
The financial side has real teeth. Section 10(d) requires whoever keeps the financial records to prepare a full financial report, a balance sheet, an income and expense statement, and a statement of funds available in the association's various accounts, within 120 days of the close of the fiscal year, and to distribute it to every unit owner within thirty days after that. For condominiums of fifty units or more, an independent certified public accountant has to review that financial report according to AICPA standards at least every two years (it can only be spaced out that far if owners vote to do so under § 10(m)). Smaller condominiums only get that outside review if a majority of owners vote for it at a proper meeting, but the cost is a common expense either way.
Use your own review-and-audit right, and the statement-of-account rule
You don't have to wait for the association to spring for outside scrutiny. Section 10(d) lets any unit owner, or mortgagee, commission their own review or audit of the association's finances, at their own expense, and requires the organization and its manager to cooperate in providing what's needed to do it. Separately, § 6(d) gives you a fast, hard-edged tool for your own account specifically: request a written statement of the unpaid common expenses and other sums assessed against your unit, and the association has ten business days to provide it. Between the § 10(c) inspection right, the § 10(d) financial report and audit rules, and the § 6(d) statement-of-account deadline, Massachusetts owners have a genuinely usable paper trail, if they know to ask for it.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 10(c)
Requires the organization to keep the master deed, bylaws, minute book, and detailed financial records current and open to reasonable inspection and photocopying by any unit owner.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 10(d)
Requires an annual financial report within 120 days of fiscal year end, distribution to owners within 30 days, and a mandatory independent CPA review at least every two years for condominiums of 50 or more units.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 6(d)
Requires the organization to furnish a written statement of unpaid amounts owed within ten business days of a written request.
Step by step
How to request condo association records in Massachusetts
A statute-anchored path to get real books, minutes, and financial documents out of a Massachusetts condo association.
- 01
Put your request in writing
Email or mail a dated written request. A dated record matters if the association is slow, since § 10(c) requires records to be kept current and open to reasonable inspection, not produced only on the association's own schedule.
- 02
Name the specific documents
Ask for the recorded master deed and bylaws, the minute book (which must be available to owners by email on request under § 10(c)), the current budget, the reserve-fund records, contracts, insurance policies, and the most recent annual financial report.
- 03
Cite § 10(d) for the financial report and audit
If it's been more than 120 days since the fiscal year closed, ask directly for the financial report § 10(d) requires. For buildings of fifty or more units, ask when the last independent CPA review was completed, since it's required at least every two years.
- 04
Use § 6(d) for your own account
Separately request a written statement of what you personally owe. The association has ten business days to respond, and once it's recorded, anything the statement fails to list can't be enforced as a lien against your unit.
- 05
Commission your own audit if the numbers don't add up
Section 10(d) lets you pay for your own independent review or audit of the association's finances, and requires the organization and its manager to cooperate. It's a real option if you suspect the books don't match what you're being charged.
Straight answers
Common questions
What condo records am I entitled to see in Massachusetts?
Under § 10(c), the organization must keep and make available for your inspection the master deed, bylaws, the minute book, and detailed financial records, receipts, expenditures, reserve-fund records, audits, contracts, and insurance policies. You can also photocopy them at your own expense.
Is the association required to give me an annual financial report?
Yes. Section 10(d) requires a full financial report, a balance sheet, income and expense statement, and fund statement, within 120 days of the close of the fiscal year, distributed to every unit owner within 30 days after that.
Does someone independent actually check the association's books?
For condominiums of fifty units or more, yes, an independent CPA must review the financial report according to AICPA standards at least every two years under § 10(d). Smaller condominiums only get that review if owners vote for it, though you can always commission your own at your own expense.
How fast does the association have to tell me what I owe?
Ten business days. Section 6(d) requires a written statement of unpaid common expenses and other assessed sums within that window after a written request, and once recorded, anything left off that statement can't be enforced as a lien against your unit.