Can the members of the HOA be given a list of the Board of Directors? What information should the list contain?

ANSWERS:

Members should be provided, if requested, with a list of the names of the board members. Ideally the list should contain some contact information, but that would only be mandatory if the applicable state statute required such.

Nelson Mullins 
Patrick O’Dea 
BNC Bank Corporate Center, Suite 300 
Myrtle Beach SC 29577 
(843) 946-5631 
patrick.odea@nelsonmullins.com 
http://www.nelsonmullins.com

There is nothing in PA law requiring or prohibiting members being given contact information for Board members. However, since the Board represents all owners, I suggest it is appropriate for members to know who their representatives are and how to contact them. Many Associations set up a separate email for this purpose and have calls go to the management agent, an answering service or an answering machine.

Sara A. Austin
Austin Law Firm LLC
226 E. Market St.
York, PA 17403
717.846.2246 phone
717.846.2248 fax
saustin@austinlawllc.com

In South Carolina the Non-profit Corporations Act provides that members are entitled to a list of directors which contains their home or business addresses.  Sometimes the Association documents also provide lists of what information should be provided to the membership.  While the legal requirements could be different from state to state or even from association to association, I feel that members should be given name and contact information for their directors.

Mark A. Nappier, Esq
Joye, Nappier, Risher & Hardin LLC
3575 Hwy 17 Business
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
843-357-6454(Tel)
843-651-8127(Fax)

Yes, the members of the HOA are entitled to know who serves on their Board of Directors. The real issue is how members should be able to contact the Board members. Officially, members should be instructed to communicate with the Board c/o the managing agent. The correspondence might explain that since Board members are volunteers, it is unduly burdensome for members to contact them individually. In practice, of course, owners can likely find out where the resident Board members live and some will find it difficult to resist personal contact.

Kenneth Jacobs
Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP
733 Yonkers Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10704
914-476-0600 X4102

In New York, many homeowners’ associations are organized and exist under the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. Under that law, any person who shall have been a member for at least six months immediately preceding a demand, upon at least five days written demand shall have the right to examine in person or by agent or attorney, during usual business hours, minutes of the proceedings of the members and  a list or record of members and to make extracts there from. The HOA may require the member to provide an affidavit that such inspection is not desired and will not be used for a purpose which is in the interest of a business or object other than the business of the corporation and that he has not within five years given, sold or offered for sale any list or record of members of any domestic or foreign corporation or aided or abetted, or attempted or offered to aid or abet, any person in procuring any such list or record of members for any such purpose.
As to a list of Directors, the statute is silent. The organizational documents should be reviewed to determine if the HOA is required to provide the members with a list of the current Directors. Nonetheless, a member should have the right to inspect the list of Directors under common law. An HOA which resists a member’s attempt to view this information likely has a burden to show bad faith and an improper purpose on part of the one seeking inspection.

Lewis Montana
Levine & Montana
1019 Park Street – P.O. Box 668
Peekskill, New York 10566
(914) 737-3515

Nothing should be more available to the owners than the names and contact information of the directors/trustees of the HOA. These are the elected representatives of the members and should be accessible to receive questions, comments and suggestions.

Kenneth D. Roth, Esq.
Marchetti Law, P.C.
900 N.Kings Highway, Suite 306
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
kroth@marchettilawfirm.com
Tel: 856-824-1001
Fax:267-219-4838