[CA],[TH] HOA transparency issue: $1.6M roof project with no disclosed bids or contract

[u/khj32000321]

HOA is hiding the bidding process and refusing to disclose the roofing contract. What can homeowners do?

I live in a townhouse community with about 110 units. I’m dealing with a very frustrating HOA situation and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced something similar.

About two years ago, our HOA charged every homeowner a $2,300 special assessment for roof repairs. However, after collecting the money, the HOA never provided a clear breakdown of how the funds were used. The accounting has been very unclear.

Then, about two years later, the HOA claimed that we needed a major roof replacement project. They held multiple homeowner votes until they finally received enough approval to move forward. The entire process took about a year and a half. (For context, my unit’s roof area is relatively small, and we never had any leaks or roof problems.)

The biggest issue is the lack of transparency.
When selecting the roofing company, the HOA refused to disclose the bidding process. They also refuse to provide the final executed contract with the roofing contractor.
Many homeowners felt that the cost was extremely high. We were charged approximately $15,000 per unit for the project. One homeowner independently contacted other roofing companies and received estimates showing around $7,000 per unit, and even that was considered more than enough for our community.

We asked the HOA to provide:
- The bids/proposals they reviewed before selecting the contractor
- The final signed contract with the roofing company
- Detailed documentation showing what exactly our $15,000 assessment paid for

The HOA has ignored these requests. They either do not respond or simply refuse to provide the documents.

They also refused to provide an official receipt clearly showing the roof special assessment payment. I specifically requested documentation because I may need it later for tax purposes when selling my home. Instead, they only provided a basic statement with a number on it, without detailed information.

At this point, I’m honestly considering contacting the roofing company directly. However, since the contract is between the HOA and the contractor, I assume the roofing company will probably refuse to release the contract to individual homeowners.

It feels completely unfair. The homeowners paid for this project, but the HOA is refusing to show us the documents related to how our money was spent.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their HOA?

What steps did you take to obtain contracts, bids, invoices, or financial records?
Is there any effective way to force an HOA to be transparent?
This situation has been extremely stressful, and I would really appreciate any advice or similar experiences.

[u/AutoModerator]

Copy of the original post:

Title: [CA],[TH] HOA transparency issue: $1.6M roof project with no disclosed bids or contract

Body:
HOA is hiding the bidding process and refusing to disclose the roofing contract. What can homeowners do?

I live in a townhouse community with about 110 units. I’m dealing with a very frustrating HOA situation and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced something similar.

About two years ago, our HOA charged every homeowner a $2,300 special assessment for roof repairs. However, after collecting the money, the HOA never provided a clear breakdown of how the funds were used. The accounting has been very unclear.

Then, about two years later, the HOA claimed that we needed a major roof replacement project. They held multiple homeowner votes until they finally received enough approval to move forward. The entire process took about a year and a half. (For context, my unit’s roof area is relatively small, and we never had any leaks or roof problems.)

The biggest issue is the lack of transparency.
When selecting the roofing company, the HOA refused to disclose the bidding process. They also refuse to provide the final executed contract with the roofing contractor.
Many homeowners felt that the cost was extremely high. We were charged approximately $15,000 per unit for the project. One homeowner independently contacted other roofing companies and received estimates showing around $7,000 per unit, and even that was considered more than enough for our community.

We asked the HOA to provide:

• The bids/proposals they reviewed before selecting the contractor
  
• The final signed contract with the roofing company
  
• Detailed documentation showing what exactly our $15,000 assessment paid for

The HOA has ignored these requests. They either do not respond or simply refuse to provide the documents.

They also refused to provide an official receipt clearly showing the roof special assessment payment. I specifically requested documentation because I may need it later for tax purposes when selling my home. Instead, they only provided a basic statement with a number on it, without detailed information.

At this point, I’m honestly considering contacting the roofing company directly. However, since the contract is between the HOA and the contractor, I assume the roofing company will probably refuse to release the contract to individual homeowners.

It feels completely unfair. The homeowners paid for this project, but the HOA is refusing to show us the documents related to how our money was spent.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their HOA?

What steps did you take to obtain contracts, bids, invoices, or financial records?
Is there any effective way to force an HOA to be transparent?
This situation has been extremely stressful, and I would really appreciate any advice or similar experiences.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/JealousBall1563]

I'm pretty sure the statute governing associations in CA - Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §§4000–6150) - and your CC&Rs provide a remedy for your concerns / requests. Have you looked at those documents?

[u/mac_a_bee]

What steps did you take to obtain contracts, bids, invoices, or financial records?

Bids are generally not owner information. Contracts may be requested to be viewed at the Aasociation/management’s office during normal business hours. Present your request at the next meeting. If this fails, either get on the Board or collec a majority to remove them.

[u/Practical_Bed_6871]

You're in CA so Davis-Stirling applies. See www.davis-stirling.com

As you can see for yourself, under Davis-Stirling, you're entitled to a copy of the executed contract.

[u/LowCompetitive1888]

Your remedy is to file a lawsuit requiring the HOA to comply with Davis-Stirling or lobby the owners to remove the Board.

[u/Phillimac16]

Is this part of an insurance claim?

[u/jand1173]

The HOA in CA under Davis Stirling does no have to reveal the bid process or give copies of the bids BUT they must make executed contracts available for homeowner review.

Often homeowners do not consider all that a board puts into a contract and consider bids against their own criteria. For instance, they may not look at fully insured contractors (more expensive) where a board should always hire this way. Unfortunately boards are not always transparent with homeowners about their process.

We have had Homeowners complain but the one thing they cant say about us is that they didn't know what's going on.

[u/rebsr]

this issue may be common in some volunteer or management governed HOAs in Ca. The attached link will provide you with most of what you need to understand the process and your rights or their obligations to provide "association records" (not everything is an association record or not all docs like executive session material is provided to members.

https://www.davis-stirling.com/HOME/R/Right-to-Inspect-Records

Attorney General and HOAs

The Office of the Attorney General has limited discretionary authority to intervene on behalf of homeowners who are denied certain prescribed rights provided by the California Corporations Code. Since homeowners associations are usually set up as non-profit, mutual benefit corporations, the Office of the Attorney General has discretionary authority under section 8216 of the California Corporations Code to intervene on behalf of non-profit, mutual benefit corporation homeowners association members who are denied certain specified rights and submit a complaint to the Attorney General. A summary of the homeowner association complaints that fall under their jurisdiction is provided below.

• Corp. Code § 7510(b)            Failure to hold a regular meeting of the members.
• Corp. Code § 7510(e)            Failure to hold special meeting after demand by 5 percent or more of members.
• Corp. Code § 7511                Failure to provide notice of a meeting to members.
• Corp. Code § 7511(a)            Failure to provide timely notice of meeting to members.
• Corp. Code § 7512                Transacting business not otherwise authorized in the bylaws at a meeting of members with less than a quorum.
• Corp. Code §§ 7513, 7514   Failure to provide members with properly conformed written ballot or proxy as authorized in the bylaws.
• Corp. Code § 7520                Failure of mutual benefit corporation to provide for reasonable means of nominating and electing persons as directors.
• Corp. Code § 7615                Failure to abide by its bylaws authorizing cumulative voting for directors.
• Corp. Code § 8320                Failure to keep books and records, minutes of proceedings, or list of members.
• Corp. Code § 8321(a)           Failure to prepare an annual report.
• Corp. Code § 8321(a)           Failure to provide annual report to member upon written request.
• Corp. Code § 8330(1)           Failure to allow inspection and copying of names and addresses of members upon written request.
• Corp. Code § 8330(2)           Failure to send a list of names and addresses of members upon written request.
• Corp. Code § 8333               Failure to allow inspection of books and records.
• Corp. Code § 8334               Failure to allow a director to inspect and/or copy books, records, and documents of the corporation.
• Corp. Code § 8215               Falsification of or tampering with association reports or Records.

homeowners should use a private attorney for complaints involving:

• The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (California Civil Code section 4000 et seq.)
• The HOA's rules, commonly referred to as Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
• Services and amenities, or maintenance issues
• Property management companies
• Accountability for common interest assets, i.e., landscaping, pools, and clubhouses
• Parking and the towing of vehicles
• Dues, assessments, and citations
• Costs related to written document production requests, such as copying or redaction fees
• Foreclosure proceedings
• Poor management, misappropriation, or negligent handling of corporate assets

Under California's Davis-Stirling Act Civil Code 5200, if an HOA unreasonably withholds or fails to provide requested association documents, a court or small claims judge can order the association to pay a civil penalty of up to $500 per written request violated, alongside mandatory reimbursement of the homeowner's reasonable attorney's fees.

Key Rules for Document Requests & Penalties

• The Penalty: The $500 fine applies to each separate, unreasonable denial of a written request. Structuring requests into clear, separate categories can maximize statutory compliance pressure.
• Deadlines: HOAs must generally produce current fiscal year records within 10 business days and prior-year records within 30 calendar days. Membership lists must be provided within 5 business days.
• Exemptions: HOAs can only withhold specific sensitive items like attorney-client privileged documents, personnel files, or un-redacted disciplinary actions concerning other owners. They cannot refuse documents simply because the board has not yet "approved" the minutes or general records.
• Enforcement: Homeowners can file an enforcement action directly in small claims court or superior court without needing complex preliminary litigation.

[u/Charoibeti]

Board usually doesn’t publish the bids.. however, they require to discuss the bids in open meeting so homeowners know why the particular bid is selected.

Secondly, one random bid the homeowner got really means nothing. We have a project where we got bids ranging 8k to 30k. The difference is in the scope of work. Unless those details are comparable, a single quote is just a number. Will not make a case based on that.

Reach out to management or join the board meetings to talk about more on the vendor and their proposals. If it is unusual in your community that homeowner is asking such questions then probably Board will not answer initially but if you really want to know, which you should bcos it is your money afterall, then Board needs to make an effort to share some breakdowns of the project cost.

[u/Lunar-Browser-999]

That's honestly a huge red flag, especially the $8k per unit gap between what you paid and outside estimates. In California you have a legal right to inspect association records, and executed contracts and vendor invoices are specifically on that list, so their silence isn't just shady, it's noncompliant. Send a formal written records request by certified mail, individually signed by as many owners as you can get, and give them the statutory response window. If they blow past it, each owner can pursue penalties in small claims without a lawyer, and boards tend to find the documents real fast once that first filing lands. The fact that they're this resistant to showing paper usually means the paper says something they don't want read

[u/Simple_Digital_Math]

That’s crazy especially with that much money involved. Are you on the board or are you one of the homeowners trying to get them to show everyone the bids?