Section 3-118(a) requires a Vermont association to retain a specific list of records: detailed receipts and expenditures, minutes of every unit-owner and executive-board meeting outside executive session, a current owner list showing each owner's votes, the governing documents and all amendments and rules currently in effect, three years of financial statements and tax returns, current officer and board rosters, its most recent annual report to the Secretary of State, current contracts, and, notably, 'records of executive board or committee actions to approve or deny any requests for design or architectural approval from unit owners.' That last category matters well beyond curiosity; it's how you find out whether the ARC actually applied the same standard to your project that it applied to your neighbor's.
Section 3-118(b) makes those records 'available for examination and copying by a unit owner or the owner's authorized agent' during reasonable business hours, on five days' written notice reasonably identifying the specific records requested. This right reaches back further than most of § 3-120's protections: § 1-204 imports § 3-118 into common interest communities created before January 1, 1999 for conduct after 1998, so most Vermont owners get this records right regardless of how old their community is. If your condo dates to the 1967 Condominium Ownership Act and never resubmitted, its own § 1320 gives a thinner fallback: the manager or board must keep 'detailed, accurate records' of common-area receipts and expenditures, available for examination 'at convenient hours of week days,' but without § 3-118's formal notice mechanics, copying right, or defined exemptions.
What the association can legitimately withhold
Section 3-118(c) lists real, limited exemptions: personnel, salary, and medical records tied to specific individuals; contracts and transactions currently being negotiated; existing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings; attorney-client or work-product communications; information disclosure of which would violate other law; records of an executive session; and, specifically, 'individual unit files other than those of the requesting owner.' That last exemption matters for a selective-enforcement fight: the association can decline to hand you its enforcement file on a specific neighbor, even though it can't withhold the ARC's own approval-and-denial records under § 3-118(a)(10), which track committee decisions rather than any one owner's private file. Section 3-118(d) allows a reasonable copying fee, and § 3-118(g) bars using anything you obtain for commercial purposes.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
27A V.S.A. § 3-118(a)
Lists the records an association must retain, including financial records, meeting minutes, and the ARC's own design/architectural approval and denial decisions.
27A V.S.A. § 3-118(b)
Gives an owner the right to examine and copy those records on five days' written notice identifying the specific documents requested.
27A V.S.A. § 3-118(c)
Lists the legitimate exemptions: personnel matters, active negotiations, litigation and privilege, executive-session records, and other owners' individual unit files.
27A V.S.A. § 1-204
Imports the § 3-118 records right into common interest communities created before 1999, for conduct occurring after 1998.
Step by step
How to request HOA or condo records in Vermont
A clean, statute-anchored records request that invokes § 3-118 and preserves your remedies.
- 01
Put it in writing, dated, at least five days ahead
Section 3-118(b)(2) conditions your right on giving the association at least five days' written notice reasonably identifying the specific records you want. A dated, specific request starts the clock and documents the request if the board stalls.
- 02
Name the categories from the statute
List the § 3-118(a) categories you want: the financial and accounting records, meeting minutes, the current owner list, governing documents and rules, contracts, and the design/ARC approval-and-denial records.
- 03
Ask for the ARC records if you're building a comparables case
Section 3-118(a)(10) requires the association to keep records of committee decisions approving or denying design and architectural requests. These aren't exempt as 'individual unit files' the way another owner's personal file would be.
- 04
Know the real exemptions before you assume stonewalling
Personnel matters, active negotiations, ongoing litigation, attorney-client communications, executive-session records, and other owners' individual unit files can be lawfully withheld under § 3-118(c). Outside those categories, a refusal is harder to justify.
- 05
Escalate a denial that isn't covered by an exemption
If the board withholds something outside § 3-118(c)'s list, put the denial in writing and consider your own § 4-117 right of action to enforce the statute.
Straight answers
Common questions
What HOA or condo records can I see in Vermont?
Under § 3-118(a), the association must retain and make available financial and accounting records, meeting minutes, the current owner list, governing documents and rules, financial statements and tax returns, current contracts, and the committee's own design and architectural approval or denial decisions.
Can the association charge me for copies?
Yes, a reasonable fee for copying and for supervising your inspection is allowed under § 3-118(d), but the fee can't be used to block the underlying inspection right.
What can the board legitimately refuse to show me?
Section 3-118(c) lets the board withhold personnel and medical records, active contract negotiations, ongoing litigation or arbitration materials, attorney-client communications, executive-session records, and other owners' individual unit files.
I own a really old condo — does this right still apply to me?
Probably, yes. Section 1-204 imports § 3-118's records right into common interest communities created before 1999 for conduct after 1998. If your condo never resubmitted under the newer Act at all, its own § 1320 provides a thinner fallback: books of receipts and expenditures available for examination on weekdays, without the newer statute's formal notice, copying, or exemption structure.