Look for a Montana HOA records or inspection statute and you won't find one. Section 70-17-901 and the HOA sections of Title 35, chapter 2, §§ 35-2-525 and 35-2-550, are only about whether meetings can happen by phone or video, not about what documents you can see or when. If you own a lot in a subdivision HOA, no state law obligates the board to show you anything beyond what your own declaration and bylaws already promise.
Condo owners get one real, specific right. Section 70-23-606 requires the manager to keep "detailed accurate records in chronological order of the receipts and expenditures affecting the common elements," itemizing maintenance and repair costs and any other expenses, and to make those records, along with the vouchers and receipts behind them, "available for examination... by the unit owners at convenient hours of weekdays." That's a genuine inspection right, but a narrow one: it covers common-element financial records, not board minutes, contracts, or a general document library.
Two more places records show up
Bylaws are public record whether your manager wants them to be or not. Section 70-23-307 requires condo bylaws to be recorded with the declaration at the county recorder's office, and any amendment isn't effective until the amended bylaws are recorded too, so a certified copy is available from the county even if the board stalls on your request. Separately, § 70-23-613 requires a seller who, alone or with an affiliated group, controls a majority of the units to hand a prospective buyer a copy of the Unit Ownership Act itself, the bylaws, and any administrative regulations before a buy-sell agreement is signed, with a 72-hour window afterward to walk away without penalty. That's most useful if you're buying into a still developer-controlled association, less so if you already own and just want current financials.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
§ 70-23-606, MCA
Requires the condo manager to keep chronological common-expense records and make them available for examination by unit owners at convenient weekday hours.
§ 70-23-307, MCA
Requires condo bylaws, and any amendment, to be recorded at the county recorder's office, making them accessible even without the board's cooperation.
§ 70-23-613, MCA
Requires a majority-owner seller to furnish a prospective buyer the Unit Ownership Act, bylaws, and administrative regulations before a buy-sell agreement, with a 72-hour withdrawal window.
Step by step
How to get real documents out of a Montana association
A practical path to obtain association records in Montana, combining the thin condo statute with what's already public at the county.
- 01
Start with your declaration, not the statute
Since state law doesn't create a broad HOA records right, your recorded declaration and bylaws are probably your actual source of any inspection right. Quote the specific clause directly in your request.
- 02
Condo owners: invoke § 70-23-606 by name
Ask, in writing, to examine the manager's chronological common-expense receipts and expenditures, plus the underlying vouchers, at the manager's place of business during weekday hours, exactly as the statute frames it.
- 03
Pull recorded documents straight from the county
Because the declaration and bylaws had to be recorded to take effect, request a certified copy from the county clerk and recorder if the board or manager won't produce one.
- 04
Ask what a buyer would have been given
If you're worried about developer control, § 70-23-613 spells out what a majority-owner seller had to disclose to purchasers. Ask whether that disclosure happened, and to whom, if the association is still developer-controlled.
- 05
Document every non-response
Because Montana has no state regulator for HOAs or condos, a paper trail of dated requests and gaps is what you'll need if this ever ends up in court instead of resolved by a hearing.
Straight answers
Common questions
What HOA records am I entitled to see in Montana?
State law doesn't guarantee any specific records for a subdivision HOA owner. Whatever inspection right you have comes entirely from your own recorded declaration and bylaws, since Montana has no dedicated HOA records statute.
What condo records am I actually guaranteed to see?
Under § 70-23-606, the manager must keep chronological, itemized records of common-element receipts and expenditures and make them, plus the underlying vouchers, available for your examination at the manager's place of business during weekday hours.
Can I get a copy of the bylaws if the manager won't send them?
Yes. Section 70-23-307 requires condo bylaws, and any amendment, to be recorded with the county recorder's office, so you can request a certified copy from the county even if the association won't cooperate.
What must a developer-controlled association disclose to buyers?
Section 70-23-613 requires a seller who, alone or with affiliates, holds a majority of the units to give a prospective buyer a copy of the Unit Ownership Act, the bylaws, and any administrative regulations before a buy-sell agreement is signed, with a 72-hour window to withdraw afterward.