How much is a reasonable charge?

Recently the HOA's attorney informed me that the HOA would be happy to provide me with a copy of the 2022 Annual Audit, if I'd fork over $125/hour for them to find it (up to two hours' time estimated) and print it for a charge of $15.

South Carolina state law allows a corporation to charge for some of its work.

SECTION 33-31-1603. Scope of inspection rights.

(a) A member's agent or attorney has the same inspection and copying rights as the member the agent or attorney represents.

(b) The right to copy records under Section 33-31-1602 includes, if reasonable, the right to receive copies made by photographic, xerographic, or other means.

(c) The corporation may impose a reasonable charge, covering the costs of labor and material, for copies of any documents provided to the member. The charge may not exceed the estimated cost of production or reproduction of the records.

The HOA's attorney says that charge is reasonable. But is it?

How much is the cost "of labor"?

CAMS recently advertised two jobs in the HOA's office. One was a part-time job of 30 hours/week at $17.00/hour. The other was a full-time job at $19.00/hour. No one really knows (except at CAMS' HQ) how much the Property Manager is paid, so let's assume $30.00/hour.

How is the attorney coming up with $125.00/hour as a "reasonable" charge for labor?

Then there is the cost of material. I pay less than $5.00 for a ream of copy paper. That's $0.05/page. Let's say the cost of printing it is another nickel. So, the cost/page is $0.10. If the Audit is 25 pages, then the "cost of material" is $2.50.

Is the $15.00/document charge reasonable? Do I have to pay for an employee to stand by the copier and drum her fingernails on the top of the copier while it's printing?

What if the document is only one page? I have requested to examine the Resolution by which the board would like to prohibit homeowners (Members) from attending monthly meetings. One page at $0.10 is ten cents. Is a $15.00 charge for the "document" reasonable?

The person advising the HOA might be charging them $400/hour, so "reasonable" to her (giving the advice) might be different from "reasonable" to a person having to pay for something.

The attorney apparently didn't understand my requests. I asked to examine documents. I did not ask for copies.

If the HOA figures out how to conduct a legal election of Directors in November 2023 (and they probably won't), how many directors should NOT be re-elected?

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