R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-44 § 31-44-14

Resident owned mobile home parks — Record keeping

In Force
Verified 10/26/2026 · Next check 11/2/2026
effective 10/15/2026Rhode IslandInspections, Registration & Licensing

Operative Text

R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-44 § 31-44-14
(a) Resident owned mobile home parks shall maintain a copy of each of the following, where
applicable, which shall constitute the official records of the association:


(1) The plans, permits, warranties, and other items provided by the developer;


(2) A photocopy of the resident association documents;


(3) A copy of the current rules of the association;


(4) A book or books containing the minutes as well as any tape recordings, if any, of
all meetings of the association, of the board of directors, and of the unit owners,
which minutes and tapes shall be retained for a period of not less than seven (7)
years. Any tape recordings shall not be considered an official record, and these tapes
shall be available to any member to be duplicated at the members' cost and expense.
The duplication cost shall not exceed ten dollars ($10.00) per tape;


(5) A current roster of all unit owners and their mailing addresses, unit identification,
and, if known, telephone numbers; street address;


(6) All current insurance policies of the association, including a fiduciary bond of the
association, and their agents;


(7) A current copy of any management agreement, lease, or other contract to which the
association is a party or under which the association or the unit owners have an obligation
or responsibility;


(8) Bills of sale or transfer for all property owned by the association;


(9) Accounting records for the association and separate accounting records for each unit
it operates, according to good accounting practices in accordance with generally acceptable
accounting principles. All accounting records shall be maintained for a period of
not less than seven (7) years:


(i) Accurate, itemized, and detailed records of all receipts and expenditures.


(ii) A current account and a monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly statement of the account
for each unit designating the name of the unit owner, the due date and amount of each
assessment, the amount paid upon the account, and the balance due.


(iii) All audits, reviews, accounting statements, and financial reports of the association.


(iv) All contracts for work to be performed. Bids for work to be performed shall also be
considered official records and shall be maintained for a period of one year.


(10) Ballots, sign-in sheets, voting proxies, and all other papers relating to elections,
which shall be maintained for a period of one year from the date of the meeting to
which the document relates;


(11) All rental records where the association is acting as agent for the rental unit.


(b) The official records of the association shall be maintained in the city or town in
which the resident owned association operates.


(c) The official records of the association shall be open to inspection by any association
member or the authorized representative of a member at all reasonable times. Failure
to permit inspection of the association records as provided in this section entitles
any person prevailing in an enforcement action to recover reasonable attorney's fees
from the person in control of the records who, directly or indirectly, knowingly denies
access to the records for inspection. The right to inspect the records includes the
right to make or obtain copies, at the reasonable expense, if any, of the association
member.


(d) Insurance. The association shall use its best efforts to obtain and maintain adequate insurance
to protect the association property.


(e) Financial report. Within sixty (60) days following the end of the fiscal or calendar year or annually
on a date otherwise provided in the bylaws of the association, the board of directors
of the association shall mail or furnish to each unit owner a complete financial report
of actual receipts and expenditures for the previous twelve (12) months. The report
shall show the amounts of receipts by accounts and receipt classification and shall
show the amounts of expenses by accounts and classification including, but not limited
to, the following:


(1) Cost for security;


(2) Professional and management fees and expenses;


(3) Taxes;


(4) Costs of recreation facilities;


(5) Expenses for refuse collection and utilities;


(6) Expenses for lawn care;


(7) Costs for building maintenance and repair;


(8) Insurance costs;


(9) Administrative and salary expenses;


(10) General reserves, maintenance reserves, and depreciation reserves;


(11) Aging of all rental income and accounts payable.


(f) Elections. The members of the resident owned mobile home park, responsible for tabulating votes
cast in any election held by the resident owned mobile home park, shall do so at a
time and place open for viewing by the members of the resident owned park, within
the city or town in which the resident owned association operates.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Rhode Island General Laws § 31-44-14 establishes comprehensive record-keeping requirements for resident-owned mobile home park associations. The law specifies which documents must be kept as official records — including meeting minutes, owner rosters, insurance policies, contracts, and detailed accounting records — and sets minimum retention periods of seven years for most financial and meeting records. Official records must be kept within the same city or town where the association operates, must be open for inspection by any member or their representative at reasonable times, and the association must distribute a full financial report to all unit owners within sixty days after each fiscal year ends. If access to records is wrongfully denied, a court may require the person who blocked inspection to pay the prevailing party's reasonable attorney's fees.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on October 15, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Operators and boards of resident-owned mobile home parks in Rhode Island should be familiar with the full list of documents that § 31-44-14 designates as official records, since compliant associations generally maintain all enumerated items — from developer-provided plans and permits to election ballots and rental records — in an organized, accessible manner within the local municipality. Accounting records and meeting minutes are typically retained for at least seven years, while bids for work and election-related documents are kept for at least one year. Boards that follow § 31-44-14 also make records available for member inspection at reasonable times and send each unit owner a detailed financial report within sixty days of the fiscal year's close, covering the specific expense categories the statute enumerates.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Under § 31-44-14, residents of a Rhode Island resident-owned mobile home park have a statutory right to inspect the association's official records — including financial accounts, meeting minutes, contracts, and insurance policies — and to make or obtain copies at reasonable cost. If a member or their authorized representative is denied access to records, the statute provides that a person who prevails in an enforcement action may recover reasonable attorney's fees from whoever knowingly blocked inspection. Residents who believe their inspection rights under § 31-44-14 are being violated may consider contacting a tenant-rights organization, a housing legal aid office, or consulting with an attorney familiar with Rhode Island mobile home park law to understand available options.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated October 15, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

Current
Oct 15, 2026
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References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3.1
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-4
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7.1
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-8
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-7
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-3
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-44-1.7

Related Rules

§ 14.544
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
§ 14.545
STANDARDS FOR HEALTH, SAFETY AND NUISANCE PREVENTION
§ 14.546
SANCTIONS AND PENALTIES

Source Information

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