Disabled homeowner says HOA won’t accommodate

Q: I am having trouble with my homeowners association board discriminating against me because I am a 66-year-old disabled person parking my truck in my driveway. They won’t give me any accommodation.

They put a false violation against me and fined me $1,000 when the Nevada Revised Statutes states it should have been only $100, and refused to allow me to have an appeal hearing to tell my side.

They have escalated the fines and fees and put me in collections, put a lien on my house and said they are foreclosing on it.

Can you please help me immediately. I have been under this stress, asking them to be amicable since February 2022. They have refused to even be nice.

My health is suffering. I cannot eat or sleep, and I am physically and emotionally drained. Can you help me?

A: You need to immediately contact the Nevada Real Estate Division at 702-486-4480 or the local HUD (U.S. Housing and Urban Development) officw at 702-477-3100. The Nevada Real Estate Division could investigate to see if the proper violation and hearing notices were executed along with the assessment of fines. HUD could assist you for violation of the Fair Housing Laws of 1964 for failing to provide accommodations.

In addition, you may want to contact an attorney who specializes in homeowner associations to assist you.

Q: This question has to do with Architectural Review Committee modification.

A homeowner modified the exterior structure of her home (removed the entry door to the casita and enclosed it) stating that she needed to keep her daughter safe. Point well understood but the problem is she did that and a ton of other modifications to the unit without approval from our HOA. She submitted a variance and the board is now asking for permits especially for the structural modification. She also has repainted her newly acquired home with mixed and matched paints from different palettes (which is disallowed per our paint resolution scheme).

She has now retained an attorney to dispute this. They are blaming COVID for everything. They are threatening to take us to HUD. Our dilemma is at what point do we have to just give into owners that blatantly refuse to follow the governing documents, retain attorneys and bully the board into submission? This is so frustrating. A few bad apples in every community.

Can we we insist on reviewing permits for structural changes? We already do that when owners install pools, gas pits, etc. Our design manual states “review may ask for permits for review.”

The paint resolution scheme has historically never been part of the resale package. Can the owner now refuse to follow the mandates because she was ignorant of the rules?

Your advice, as always, is appreciated.

A: Assuming your covenants, conditions and restrictions are fairly standard as they pertain to architectural procedures, an association normally requires construction plans, including permits from the owner, prior to construction. Whether or not an owner is claiming some protection under the Fair Housing Laws’ disability section, the law does not prohibit an association from following its normal policy of the processing of an architectural request. What is different is where the owner needs special modifications, which could be contrary to the architectural guidelines. In those modification requests, the association normally would have to approve the request.

Your association needs to make a decision as to whether you want to spend money on legal counsel to ensure that guidelines are followed. Being ignorant of the rules is no excuse. The purpose for architectural requests is to contact the association before work is initiated. If you act without approval, you could face additional expenses. For example, you might have to repaint your home with the proper colors. There are a variety of Nevada Supreme Court decisions that would support your association in requiring an owner to remodel, or in this case, repaint.

As to the COVID issue, you would need to review the owner’s information to determine if there was a legitimate issue in obtaining architectural approval.

Barbara Holland is an author and educator on real estate management. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.