Section 1603-118(a) requires the association to retain eleven specific categories of records: six years of receipts and expenditures, minutes of every meeting (other than executive session) plus records of any action taken without a meeting, the current list of unit owners and their addresses and votes, its organizational documents and current rules, three years of financial statements and tax returns, the names and addresses of current board members and officers, its most recent annual report to the Secretary of State, records enabling resale-certificate compliance, current contracts, records of every board or committee decision approving or denying a design or architectural request, and ballots and proxies for one year after the vote they relate to. That's a genuinely long list, and it means the records have to exist as a matter of law, not just get produced if the board feels like it.
Section 1603-118(b) sets the mechanics: records must be available for inspection and copying during reasonable business hours or a mutually convenient time and place, upon ten days' written notice reasonably identifying the specific records requested. Subsection (c) lists what can legitimately be withheld, personnel and medical records, active contract negotiations, pending litigation or enforcement proceedings, attorney-client communications, and a few others, a short, defined list rather than a blanket exemption. The association can charge a reasonable fee for copying and supervising your inspection under (d), but it isn't obligated to compile or synthesize information for you under (f), and whatever you get can't be used for a commercial purpose unrelated to the association under (g).
This is the one statute that reaches every condo, old or new
Section 1601-102(a) specifically lists § 1603-118 among the sections that apply to condominiums created before the modern Act's effective date, so this detailed inspection right isn't just for newer buildings. Legacy owners under the old Unit Ownership Act had a much thinner right under § 577, just the receipts-and-expenditures books, examinable "at convenient hours of weekdays," with nothing said about minutes, contracts, or ballots. Today, every current Maine condo owner gets the modern § 1603-118 right instead, regardless of when the building was built.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
33 M.R.S. § 1603-118(a)
Requires the association to retain eleven specific categories of records, including meeting minutes, financial records, architectural-approval decisions, and voting records.
33 M.R.S. § 1603-118(b)-(c)
Sets the inspection mechanics, ten days' written notice and reasonable business hours, and the short, defined list of categories the association may withhold.
33 M.R.S. § 1601-102(a)
Confirms § 1603-118's records right applies to every Maine condominium, including those created before the modern Act, for events since its effective date.
Step by step
How to request condo records in Maine
A clean, statute-anchored records request that invokes 33 M.R.S. § 1603-118 and preserves your remedies if the association stalls.
- 01
Put it in writing and date it
Email or mail (certified is ideal) a written request identifying the specific records you want from the § 1603-118(a) list, not a vague request for "everything."
- 02
Give the ten-day notice
Section 1603-118(b) requires ten days' written notice reasonably identifying the records; propose a reasonable time and location for your inspection.
- 03
Anticipate what can be withheld
Section 1603-118(c) allows the association to withhold a short, specific list, personnel records, active negotiations, pending litigation, privileged communications. It can't use those categories as a blanket excuse to refuse everything.
- 04
Push back on excessive fees
A reasonable copying and supervision fee is allowed under (d), but the association isn't entitled to charge you for compiling or summarizing records it isn't obligated to synthesize under (f).
- 05
Escalate a stonewalled request
If the board ignores or refuses a proper request, cite § 1603-118 directly in writing. Maine doesn't have a state regulator for associations the way some states do, so a documented paper trail matters if the dispute ends up in court.
Straight answers
Common questions
What condo records am I actually entitled to see in Maine?
Under 33 M.R.S. § 1603-118(a), the association must retain and make available eleven categories: financial records, meeting minutes, the owner list, governing documents and rules, tax returns, board and officer information, its annual report, resale-certificate records, current contracts, architectural-approval decisions, and recent ballots and proxies.
How much notice do I have to give before inspecting records?
Ten days' written notice reasonably identifying the specific records you want, under § 1603-118(b), during reasonable business hours or a mutually convenient time and place.
Can the association charge me for copies?
Yes, a reasonable fee for copying and supervising your inspection under § 1603-118(d), but it isn't required to compile or summarize records for you under (f), and it can't withhold access simply by inflating the fee.
Does this records right apply to my pre-1982 building?
Yes. Section 1601-102(a) specifically applies § 1603-118 to condominiums created before the modern Act too, so every current Maine condo owner gets the same detailed records right regardless of when the building was built.