Nevada HOA Fine Notice Response
In Nevada an executive board cannot fine a unit's owner unless the owner had written notice of the rule at least 30 days before the violation, a notice with the amount, the hearing date and a photograph, and a hearing the board itself must schedule and hold.
Find out where you stand in Nevada
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Introduction
Nevada will not let an executive board penalize you for a rule you were not told about at least 30 days before the violation: a Nevada HOA fine notice response is the unit's owner's written answer to the board's notice of a hearing under NRS 116.31031. Subsection 4(a) bars any fine unless you had written notice of the governing-document provisions behind the alleged violation not less than 30 days before it happened. The violation notice itself must specify the violation, the proposed action to cure, the amount, and the date, time and location of the hearing, with a clear and detailed photograph where one can be taken. You do not have to request the hearing: the board must schedule it so you can prepare and be present, and must hold it before fining unless you pay, waive it in writing, or fail to appear. The date in that notice governs. Outside an imminent threat to health, safety or welfare, the cap is $100 for each violation or $1,000 per hearing. The hearing is in executive session unless you ask in writing for an open one, and you may bring counsel and witnesses.
Key Things to Know
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A Nevada HOA fine notice response is a letter from the unit's owner to the executive board, sent after a notice under NRS 116.31031(4)(b) arrives and before the hearing date it names. It answers the allegation, documents any cure, raises any defect in the board's process, and, if you want one, asks in writing for an open hearing. NRS 116.1201(1) applies chapter 116 to all common-interest communities created within this State, subject to listed exceptions, and NRS 116.1203(3) applies these sections to a residential planned community containing more than 6 units.
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Start with the 30-day rule. NRS 116.31031(4)(a) says the board may not fine you unless, not less than 30 days before the alleged violation, you had been provided with written notice of the applicable provisions of the governing documents that form its basis. Ask the association when and how it sent you that rule. A schedule of fines must also be hand-delivered or mailed to each unit under subsection 3 if the association adopts a fining policy.
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Read the board's paperwork against subsection 4(b). It must specify in detail the alleged violation, the proposed action to cure, the amount, and the date, time and location of the hearing, and it must include a clear and detailed photograph if the violation concerns the physical condition of the unit or its grounds or anything else that can be photographed. Under subsection 4, you are not deemed to have received it unless it was mailed to the unit's address and to any other mailing address you specified.
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The executive board, or a committee of not less than three members if the governing documents so provide, conducts the hearing. Under NRS 116.31031(9), a board member who has not paid all assessments due may not participate in the hearing or vote on the penalty; any action taken at a hearing where such a member participates is void. NRS 116.31085(4) gives you the right to attend every portion where evidence is presented, the right to counsel, the right to present witnesses, and the right to present information about any conflict of interest of a member of the hearing panel.
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The ceiling depends on the threat. For a violation that does not pose an imminent threat of causing a substantial adverse effect on health, safety or welfare, the amount must be commensurate with the severity and may not exceed $100 for each violation or a total of $1,000 per hearing. For an imminent-threat violation the statute requires an amount commensurate with severity but states no dollar ceiling. A past-due penalty may not bear interest under subsection 11.
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Cure matters after the decision too. Under NRS 116.31031(7), a violation not cured within 14 days, or a longer period the board sets, becomes a continuing violation, and the board may add a penalty up to the original amount for each 7-day period or portion that it stays uncured, without a new hearing and outside the $1,000 ceiling. NRS 116.31085(4)(d) says that 14-day period does not begin until the date written notice of the board's decision is provided to you.
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An unpaid penalty can attach to the unit: NRS 116.3116(1) gives the association a lien for any fines imposed against the unit's owner from the time they become due. NRS 116.31162(6) bars foreclosing that lien by sale based on a penalty unless the violation poses an imminent threat to health, safety or welfare, or the penalty is for failing to follow a construction schedule. Before any civil action over the governing documents, NRS 38.310 requires mediation through a written claim with the Real Estate Division.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a HOA Fine Notice Response in Nevada, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The HOA Fine Notice Response guide walks through them.
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Nevada Requirements for HOA Fine Notice Response
Proof of When You Received the Rule
NRS 116.31031(4)(a) bars a penalty unless, not less than 30 days before the alleged violation, you had written notice of the governing-document provisions that form its basis. Find the date you received that provision, or ask the association to show it.
The Notice Elements and the Photograph
Under subsection 4(b) the notice must specify the alleged violation, the proposed action to cure, the amount, and the date, time and location of the hearing, with a clear and detailed photograph where the violation can be photographed. It counts as received only if mailed to the unit's address and any address you designated.
Your Choice of Executive Session or Open Hearing
NRS 116.31085(4) says the executive board meets in executive session to hold a violation hearing unless the person who may be sanctioned requests in writing that an open hearing be conducted. Decide which you want and put it in writing.
Counsel, Witnesses and Conflict Information
You may attend every portion of the hearing where evidence is presented, and you have the right to counsel, to present witnesses, and to present information about a conflict of interest of any member of the hearing panel. You may not attend the board's deliberations.
Whether Every Panel Member Is Current
A board member who has not paid all assessments due may not participate in your hearing or vote on the penalty, and NRS 116.31031(9) makes any such action or vote void. A committee of not less than three may hear violations if the governing documents so provide.
The Category and the Cap
For a violation that is not an imminent threat to health, safety or welfare, the amount must be commensurate with severity and may not exceed $100 for each violation or $1,000 per hearing. Ask which category the board applied. A past-due amount may not bear interest.
The Day the Decision Reaches You
The 14-day period before a violation becomes continuing does not begin until written notice of the board's decision is provided to you. After that, the board may add up to the original amount for each 7-day period the violation stays uncured. Record the delivery day and document any repair before day 14.
The Mediation Claim Before Any Lawsuit
NRS 38.310 bars a civil action over the governing documents unless submitted to mediation and association procedures are exhausted. NRS 38.320 requires a written claim with the Real Estate Division and a $50 fee, with 30 days to answer, and NRS 38.330 sets 60 days to complete mediation.