Scope of inspection right

Common Elements summary — Section 617.1603 narrows the broad inspection right in 617.1602 for sensitive categories. A member who wants to inspect (a) excerpts from minutes of board meetings (other than members' meetings), (b) the accounting records, or (c) records of the corporation other than those listed in 617.1601, must make the request in good faith and for a proper purpose, must describe with reasonable particularity the purpose and the records, and the records requested must be directly connected to that purpose. In plain English: the chapter-mandated records (articles, bylaws, members' meeting minutes, financial statements, etc.) are open by default. Board-meeting deliberations, raw accounting books, and miscellaneous internal records are open only on a showing of proper purpose. For HOA and COA boards, this is the basis for legitimately declining a fishing expedition into board executive-session minutes or detailed accounting workpapers. The trick is to decline carefully — refuse only the narrow category that 617.1603 actually narrows, produce everything else, and put the reason in writing. Florida courts are unsympathetic to associations that hide behind 617.1603 to deny obviously open records.

Not legal advice. Click through to the official source for statutory text.