The Michigan Legislature has just passed 2013 PA 134, a new law regarding the operation of Condominium Associations in Michigan. This new law takes effect January 14, 2014. First of all, this new law requires any Condominium Association to make…
its books, records, contracts and financial statements available for inspection by any co-owner at convenient times. Secondly, it requires that any condominium association with annual revenues (the total of all dues and assessments collected) in excess of $20,000 per year must have its books, records and financial statements audited by a CPA every year, but those audits need not be certified. Finally, it allows a condominium association to opt out of this audit requirement on an annual basis by an affirmative vote of a majority of the co-owners. (The co-owners must vote each year whether to opt out for that year.) An audit by a CPA is an extra expense, but it ensures the co-owners that the books and records are being kept properly, and that systems are in place to prevent someone from embezzling money. That happened several years ago at a large site condominium complex in Plymouth, and it took several years and a lot of work by the volunteer board to straighten things out. If you have any questions about this, or about any other aspect of Condominium Association operation, feel free to contact Larry Witkowski or George Shea.