West Virginia's core records statute is broad in what it covers, thinner on how you actually enforce it. W. Va. Code § 36B-3-118 requires the association to keep financial records detailed enough to meet its resale-certificate obligations, and it flatly states that "all financial and other records must be made reasonably available for examination by any unit owner and his authorized agents." That "and other records" language reaches further than just the ledger, minutes, contracts, and governing documents can reasonably fall inside it too. What the statute doesn't spell out is a specific list of exempt categories, a required response timeline, or copy-cost rules the way some other states' statutes do, so the practical request still has to be reasonable on both sides, and the specifics of process often live in your bylaws.
For a legacy condo created under the older Unit Property Act (Chapter 36A), § 36A-3-13 supplies a parallel, older right: the treasurer must keep detailed records of receipts and expenditures, itemized by maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements, available for examination by unit owners during regular business hours, plus an accurate running record of each owner's assessments and payments. Because § 36B-1-204's reach-back list includes § 36B-3-118, a legacy condo owner can invoke both rights: the older, business-hours examination right under Chapter 36A and, for events after 36B's effective date, the broader "all financial and other records" right under Chapter 36B.
Your fastest lever: the ten-business-day statement of what you owe
Separate from the general records right, § 36B-3-116(g) creates a sharp, transactional tool: submit a written request, and the association must furnish you a statement of the unpaid assessments against your unit within ten business days. If your interest is real estate, the statement must be in recordable form, and it's binding on the association, the executive board, and every unit owner once given. It's built with closings and refinances in mind, but any owner can use it to force a fast, precise accounting of their own account, with a hard statutory deadline the general records right doesn't otherwise carry.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
W. Va. Code § 36B-3-118
Requires the association to keep detailed financial records and make "all financial and other records" reasonably available for examination by any unit owner or authorized agent.
W. Va. Code § 36B-3-116
Includes the ten-business-day right to a written statement of unpaid assessments against your unit, binding on the association once given.
W. Va. Code § 36A-3-13
The legacy act's records right: the treasurer must keep itemized receipts and expenditures and an assessment record, available for owner examination during regular business hours.
Step by step
How to request HOA or condo records in West Virginia
A practical path to get real documents and a fast account statement out of a West Virginia association.
- 01
Put your request in writing and date it
Send a dated, written request by email or mail. A documented request is what you'll need if the association stalls or produces nothing.
- 02
Separate the two rights you're actually invoking
If you want the broader books and records, cite § 36B-3-118 (or § 36A-3-13 for a legacy condo). If you specifically want to know your account balance, request the formal statement of unpaid assessments under § 36B-3-116(g), which carries its own ten-business-day deadline.
- 03
List the specific documents
Name what you want: governing documents and amendments, board and member meeting minutes, the annual budget, financial statements, and relevant contracts, so "reasonably available" has something concrete to answer.
- 04
Track the clock
The general records right doesn't carry a statutory deadline, but the § 36B-3-116(g) account statement does: ten business days. Note the date you asked and hold the association to whichever deadline actually applies.
- 05
Escalate a stonewall in writing
If the association ignores or refuses a proper request, put the refusal in writing yourself, citing the statute, and treat it as what it is: a failure of the association's own recordkeeping duty, not just an unhelpful board.
Straight answers
Common questions
What HOA or condo records am I entitled to see in West Virginia?
Under W. Va. Code § 36B-3-118, "all financial and other records" must be made reasonably available for examination by a unit owner or their authorized agent. For a legacy condo, § 36A-3-13 separately guarantees examination of the treasurer's itemized receipts, expenditures, and assessment records during regular business hours.
Can the association charge me for copies?
West Virginia's records statute doesn't set a specific copy-cost rule, so check your declaration and bylaws for whatever fee schedule they set, and treat an inflated or blanket fee as a fair thing to question directly with the board.
How fast does the association have to tell me what I owe?
Within ten business days of your written request. § 36B-3-116(g) requires a statement of unpaid assessments within that window, and it's binding on the association, the executive board, and every unit owner.
I'm in an older condo built before the modern law. Do I still get records access?
Yes, in two layers. Your own founding statute, § 36A-3-13, guarantees examination of the treasurer's records during business hours, and § 36B-1-204's reach-back applies the broader modern records right, § 36B-3-118, to your community too, for events after Chapter 36B's effective date.