Law states fees allowed for copies of HOA minutes

Q: I requested copies of the minutes from our management company from January 2007 through August, 2010. There was a total of 21 pages. I agreed to pay $.25 per page. When I picked-up the minutes, a additional $10 research fee had been added by the management company.

Is this fee allowed? I thought NRS states that paper copies of minutes are not to exceed $.25 per copy for the first two pages and $.10 per page for each additional page.

A: NRS 116.31777, subsection 2, states that the association board can charge a fee to cover the actual costs of preparing a copy but not to exceed $.25 per page. NRS 116.31175, subsection 5, states that the board may charge up to $10 per hour to review any books, records, contracts or other papers of the association. There are records that are not available by law to a homeowner, for example, records of another individual unit owner

More and more management companies can send minutes by e-mail. However, depending upon the company, not all past annual records are on the computer. Some records may be in archives on special hard drives or in boxes that have been stored off the premises of the management company.

Barbara Holland, CPM, and Supervisory CAM, is president of H&L Realty and Management Co. To ask her a question, e-mail support@hlrealty.com.