Administrative Access Recovery Policy

1. Purpose

This policy establishes the procedures for recovering HOA admin access when an association loses access to its administrative account(s). This may occur due to board turnover, administrator resignation, account lockout, management transition, or other circumstances.

Recovery is based on documented authority to act for the association. Professional licensing alone does not establish association authority.

Where the normal AssocRecords management-company handoff process is available, that process should be used. Administrative Access Recovery is not intended to bypass an ordinary handoff or adjudicate a disputed management transition.

2. Who Can Request Recovery

Depending on documented authority, eligible requesters may include:

• Association officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer)
• Board directors or members with documented board authorization
• Authorized association administrators
• Authorized management representatives acting on behalf of the association
• Legal counsel representing the association with a letter of engagement

3. Required Information

All recovery requests must include:

• Full name, email, and phone number of the requester
• The requester's role/title within the association
• The name of the association/community
• A detailed explanation of why admin recovery is needed
• If the designated new admin is different from the requester, their contact information

4. Verification Process

To protect associations from unauthorized access, all recovery requests are subject to identity and authority verification.

AssocRecords may use reasonable identity and authority verification methods appropriate to the circumstances and may request additional documentation.

• Authority documentation may include, depending on the case, board meeting minutes, election or appointment evidence, management agreements, termination or non-renewal evidence, or legal authorization letters.
• Association verification: We confirm that the association exists on our platform and assess the requester's claimed connection to it.

Specific documentation is not required to submit a request. AssocRecords may request evidence after intake when needed to establish authority.

5. Risk Levels

Requests are categorized by risk level. Processing times below are estimates only and are not guarantees:

6. Processing Timeline

Recovery requests are typically reviewed during normal business hours (Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM ET). We aim to acknowledge requests within about one business day. Actual completion time depends on risk level, verification needs, and how quickly any requested documentation is provided. Timelines are estimates, not guarantees of immediate recovery.

7. What Happens After Approval

• The designated person may be granted HOA admin access to the association.
• Existing access may be reviewed, updated, or revoked when documented association authority has changed. AssocRecords does not promise that prior administrators or management users always remain active, and does not automatically revoke every prior account in every case.
• Where appropriate, the new admin can manage other users through the normal admin interface.
• Association records remain with the association. Recovery does not delete community records.
• All recovery actions are logged in the platform audit trail.

8. Safeguards

• The last remaining HOA admin of any association cannot be removed or deactivated through the admin interface, ensuring associations always maintain at least one admin.
• All recovery request submissions, status changes, approvals, and rejections are recorded in the audit log.
• Duplicate pending requests for the same association and email are prevented.

9. Rejection and Disputes

If a recovery request is rejected, the request status may include the reason when practicable. Requesters may submit a new request with additional information or documentation. For disputes involving conflicting authority claims, see Section 10.

10. Competing Claims and Authority Verification

AssocRecords may require additional documentation or verification steps if there is any uncertainty regarding the authority of the requester.

If credible conflicting claims arise regarding administrative control of an association account, AssocRecords may pause or delay recovery and request additional documentation. AssocRecords does not adjudicate or decide the association's underlying governance dispute. Recovery proceeds only when authority can reasonably be established.

In certain cases, AssocRecords may require documentation such as board meeting minutes, management agreements, termination or appointment evidence, or legal authorization before granting or changing administrative access.

11. Limitation of Responsibility

AssocRecords will make reasonable efforts to verify the identity and authority of individuals requesting administrative access recovery.

However, AssocRecords cannot independently verify the internal governance decisions of homeowner associations and does not determine contested board or management disputes.

By submitting a recovery request, the requester affirms that they are authorized to act on behalf of the association.

AssocRecords is not responsible for disputes between board members, property managers, or other parties regarding administrative authority.