GraceM3 (Florida)
Posts: 5
Posts: 5
Posted:
How long does an HOA have to maintain previous homeowner files.
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PREVIOUS HOMEOWNERS FILES
Started by GraceM3 • 7 replies • 250 views
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TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Required - nothing definitive.
Best practice -
Payment of Assessments - past 5 years for the lot.
Architectural requests - forever
Violations - unless they still exist when the property changes hands, we tend to dispose of them within the first year after a sale.
Best practice -
Payment of Assessments - past 5 years for the lot.
Architectural requests - forever
Violations - unless they still exist when the property changes hands, we tend to dispose of them within the first year after a sale.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Resources:
Don't get caught off guard: The importance of association record-keeping in Florida 2024 article based on recent legislation
Board Resources > How Long Does an HOA Need to Keep Records? from a software company
Record retention for condos and HOAs from a MC
The Ultimate HOA Records Retention Guide: What You Need to Know from a legal firm
Don't get caught off guard: The importance of association record-keeping in Florida 2024 article based on recent legislation
Board Resources > How Long Does an HOA Need to Keep Records? from a software company
Record retention for condos and HOAs from a MC
The Ultimate HOA Records Retention Guide: What You Need to Know from a legal firm
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
LetA (Nevada)
Posts: 2,679
Posts: 2,679
Posted:
I just throw this out there, it's amazing how many PDF documents one 1TB drive can hold. Honestly, I would retain any and all
documents. You never know when something will come back to bite you.
documents. You never know when something will come back to bite you.
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
I second LetA's comments. Laws may date back to the time when many or all association records were on paper. There were limits to what an association could physically store and what they could even find if they were expected to produce a record from several years ago. This situation was made worse by turnover among board members and by community managers if the association used one.
Unfortunately laws may not get updated unless the old versions are causing enough problems to come to lawmakers' attention. With modern online storage capacity, there is no need to impose artificial limits as long as the records are well organized and easily found when needed. The only thing I'd add is that if an association is going to rely on only one location for storage (cloud vs. local hard drive), it's good practice to duplicate the records at the other location (for business contingency/disaster recovery or extended downtime of a cloud provider).
Unfortunately laws may not get updated unless the old versions are causing enough problems to come to lawmakers' attention. With modern online storage capacity, there is no need to impose artificial limits as long as the records are well organized and easily found when needed. The only thing I'd add is that if an association is going to rely on only one location for storage (cloud vs. local hard drive), it's good practice to duplicate the records at the other location (for business contingency/disaster recovery or extended downtime of a cloud provider).
SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964
Posts: 6,964
Posted:
Tim’s link to the CAI sample association retention schedule is a good start. I would also talk to your association attorney and master insurance carrier for help on drafting a document retention/destruction policy that can help address issues like this, along with procedures on how documents should be destroyed, how to request files, documents homeowners AREN’T entitled to, photocopying costs, and more.
The reason you want to talk to your master insurance carrier is that they may have certain requirements to help protect the association against lawsuits concerning documents that were destroyed, but shouldn’t have been (like board meeting minutes – in many states those must be kept permanently). As people are moving to the cloud to store data, you’ll need policies to address that, along with any updates should state law change.
The reason you want to talk to your master insurance carrier is that they may have certain requirements to help protect the association against lawsuits concerning documents that were destroyed, but shouldn’t have been (like board meeting minutes – in many states those must be kept permanently). As people are moving to the cloud to store data, you’ll need policies to address that, along with any updates should state law change.
If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius
DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046
Posts: 2,046
Posted:
Florida Statute 720 (HOA) and FS 718 (Condos) both specify that official records are to be maintained for 7 years. I'm not fully clear on what the OP means by "previous homeowner files", but if refers to Architectural applications/approvals/denials, I would suggest that those should be kept permanently so that if questions arise in the future they can be properly researched. Keeping accounting records beyond 7 years seems less necessary.
Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.
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