Transparency is real leverage in North Carolina. Under § 47F-3-118, "all financial and other records," including meeting minutes of both the association and the executive board, must be made "reasonably available for examination" by any lot owner or their authorized agent. If the bylaws don't specify what to keep, the statute fills the gap: the association must keep accurate records of every cash receipt and expenditure and every asset and liability. On top of that, the association must produce a full annual income and expense statement and balance sheet, at no charge, to every owner within 75 days of the fiscal year's close, whether or not anyone asks for it.
Separately, § 47F-3-118 gives you a hard deadline for one specific document: upon written request, the association must furnish a binding statement of your unpaid assessments and other charges within 10 business days, and the fee it can charge for that statement is capped at $200 (plus up to $100 more if you need it within 48 hours of a closing). The same section bars the association from making payments to any officer or board member, or to their business or relatives, except as the bylaws expressly allow or the board pre-approves, a built-in conflict-of-interest check you can test with a records request.
Use records to check the budget and the board
Your records right connects directly to the budget process in § 47F-3-103. Within 30 days of adopting a proposed budget, the executive board must send every lot owner a summary of it along with notice of the meeting to consider ratifying it. That budget is automatically ratified unless a majority of all lot owners, not just those who show up, votes it down at that meeting; no quorum is required. In practice, most owners never see a real vote happen on the budget, so pulling the summary and comparing it against your assessments is often the only check you get before it's locked in.
You also have a way to force a deeper look. § 47F-3-118 lets a majority of the executive board, or a majority of lot owners present and voting at an annual or special meeting, require a more extensive compilation, review, or audit of the association's books for the current or immediately preceding fiscal year. Organizing your neighbors, not just filing a records request, is how you get a genuine outside look at the numbers.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47F-3-118
Requires the association to keep detailed financial records reasonably available to owners, publish an annual income and expense statement within 75 days of fiscal year-end, and furnish a written statement of your account within 10 business days.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47F-3-103
Requires a budget summary and ratification-meeting notice to every lot owner within 30 days of adoption, and lets a majority of all lot owners reject the budget even without a quorum present.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47F-3-108
Sets meeting notice content requirements, including disclosure of budget changes, feeding the same records-and-transparency framework.
Step by step
How to request HOA records in North Carolina
A written, statute-anchored records and account-statement request under § 47F-3-118.
- 01
Put the request in writing and date it
A dated written request, email or mail, creates the proof you'll need if the association slow-walks it.
- 02
Name the specific records
Ask for the meeting minutes (association and executive board), the annual income and expense statement and balance sheet, the current budget, and the cash and asset records.
- 03
Separately request a statement of your account
Invoke § 47F-3-118 by name. The association has 10 business days to furnish a binding statement of your unpaid assessments and other charges.
- 04
Cite the statute and the deadlines
Reference § 47F-3-118 in your request so the board knows you're aware of the 75-day annual-statement deadline and the 10-business-day account-statement deadline.
- 05
Escalate a stonewall by organizing
If records aren't made reasonably available, put the refusal in writing, and consider rallying enough owners to force a full compilation, review, or audit at the next annual or a special meeting under § 47F-3-118.
Straight answers
Common questions
What HOA records can I see in North Carolina?
Under § 47F-3-118, "all financial and other records," including meeting minutes of the association and the executive board, must be made reasonably available for examination by any lot owner or their authorized agent.
How fast does the HOA have to answer a records request?
The statute sets a firm deadline for one specific document: a written statement of your unpaid assessments and charges must be furnished within 10 business days of your request. The annual income and expense statement and balance sheet must go out to all owners within 75 days of the fiscal year's close, whether or not anyone asks.
Can the HOA charge me for records or a statement?
For a statement of unpaid assessments, yes, but the fee is capped at $200 per statement, plus up to $100 more if you need it within 48 hours of a closing. General record inspection is meant to be reasonably available, not fee-gated.
Can I force a real audit of the books?
Yes. § 47F-3-118 lets a majority of the executive board, or a majority of lot owners present and voting at an annual or special meeting, require a more extensive compilation, review, or audit of the association's books for the current or immediately preceding fiscal year.