How to Request HOA Records in Illinois

You have the right to inspect your association's records. You don't need a reason, and you don't need to be in a fight to ask. What you do need is to ask in writing, because a written request starts a clock the board has to answer to. Below are two letters you can copy: the first request, and the firmer follow-up if they go quiet.

What you're entitled to

In Illinois, owners can inspect and copy the core records of their association: meeting minutes, budgets and financial statements, signed contracts, the declaration and bylaws, insurance policies, and assessment records. If you're in a condo, that right comes from the Illinois Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605). If you're in an HOA, it comes from the Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160).

Not sure which one applies to you? We sort out who's who in HOA, condo association, or PMC in Illinois.

A few things are usually off-limits: personnel files, attorney communications, and records tied to active litigation. Everything else that tells you how the place is run is yours to see.

The first request

Keep it simple and specific. Name the documents you want and the dates they cover. "All financial records" gives the board an easy out. "2024 and 2025 year-end financial statements" does not. Send it somewhere you can prove it arrived: email with a read receipt, or certified mail.

Subject: Records inspection request - [name], [unit]

To the Board of Directors:

I am an owner at [address] and a member in good standing. I request to inspect and copy:
- [2024-2025 year-end financials]
- [board minutes, Jan 2025-present]

Please tell me when I can inspect these or receive copies. Sent [date].
[Name] / [phone, email]

The follow-up, if they go quiet

Boards drag their feet for one reason: most owners give up after the first email. Don't. If you've heard nothing, or you got a partial response, send the second letter. This one names the statute and the deadline that passed. The tone shifts from asking to reminding them of the law.

Copy this one:

Subject: Second request - records inspection, statutory deadline passed

To the Board of Directors:

On [date of first request] I sent a written request to inspect the records listed below. As of today, [today's date], I have received [no response / an incomplete response].

Under the [Illinois Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605 / Common Interest Community Association Act, 765 ILCS 160], the association is required to maintain these records and make them available to members on request. That obligation is not optional, and the time to respond has passed.

The records still outstanding:

• [list what you're still owed]

Please confirm a specific date, within seven days, when I can inspect or receive these records. Continued silence is a failure to comply with the statute.

Sent [date].

[Your name] [unit or address]

Use the condo statute if you're in a condo, the HOA statute if you're in an HOA. If you're not sure which, the who's who guide above sorts it out.

If the second request gets ignored too

At that point you've done everything right and built a clean record: a dated first request, a dated follow-up citing the law, and the board's silence on both. That record is exactly what a formal demand letter is built on. A letter that lays out the statute, the dates, and what you're owed gets a different reaction than another email.

That's where we come in. DispuPoint reads your documents, identifies the statute that actually applies, and drafts the demand letter you sign and send. $249 flat, Illinois only, every case reviewed before it reaches you. If your case isn't winnable, you get a full refund. Start your case.