CO HOA: Record Retention

Where is the best place to determine what the rules for Records Retention are. There is nothing in the Bylaws or CCRs. Is this driven by state or federal mandates? We are a very small association and don't have a dedicated lawyer. Thanks!

As far as I know the only federal rules are from the IRS for anything related to taxes.

Actually, outside of storing ballots, there is no Civil Code or Corporation Code statues that cover the retention of association records. There may be guidance from attorneys but nothing else.

My suggestion is to establish a policy and stick to it. Any variations (for example, why didn't the BOD retain this?) might create an opening for a trial lawyer to exploit.

That said, anything related to litigation or even the threat of litigation should probably be retained until the threat ceases -- here, a local attorney could advise.

In addition to the resources TimB4 suggested, you might also want to talk to your association's master insurance company.

Again, don't know about CO, but vs. Richard in Calif, meeting minutes in CA, Civ. code 5210, must be kept permanently per civil code. Other records must be available to owners upon request for the current year plus the past two years. So, that is a time frame they must be retained.