Q Is a condominium required to produce an annual financial report? If they don't, what is the recourse? What parts of a financial report do the owners have access to? If the management doesn't allow me to see the report, what action can I take?

—Seeing is Believing

A “In Massachusetts, this question is fairly easy to answer because it is covered by state statute (Chapter 183A, Section 10(c) and (d)). It requires, among other things, that a variety of financial records be maintained by the condominium association and be kept available for reasonable inspection. Thus any unit owner can arrange to review and copy the material,” explains Daniel M. Polvere, Esq., from the Charlestown-based law firm MPD Law, LLC.

“More specifically, a financial report, including at least a balance sheet, income and expense statements, and funds balances of various association funds (like the reserve fund), must be prepared by the association or its manager within 120 days after the end of a fiscal year and made available to owners 30 days after that. (For associations of 50 or more units this must be reviewed by a CPA.)

“The law is not specific on remedies but the duty runs to all unit owners. So, failure could lead to the trustees being voted out. Otherwise, it is possible to bring a court action on behalf of all owners (called a derivative action) to force a board to do its duty. A successful litigant in such a case could recover legal fees.”