Voting share is not a head count
Connecticut's October 1 common-interest-community law lets a qualifying group of unit owners seek a court-ordered independent audit of association finances. Public Act 26-31 requires owners of units carrying at least twenty percent of allocated association votes, not simply twenty percent of people at a meeting.
The group must certify a good-faith basis and obtain a signed opinion from an independent accountant specializing in fraud or financial forensics that apparent evidence of fraud or misuse exists. The opinion must identify its basis. Suspicion without these steps does not automatically establish a qualifying petition.
The petitioners bear the audit cost
No covered audit may have been completed in the preceding twelve months. The owners filing the petition pay the audit expenses, and the association or manager may charge a reasonable fee for providing records to the independent reviewer. This is not a publicly funded free audit.
Preserve the vote allocation, financial records and accountant assessment before planning court costs. The new procedure may help owners investigate dues and association money, but a petition is not a finding that funds were stolen or a guarantee of recovery. The effective date creates a process with evidence and cost requirements, rather than bypassing them.