Las Vegas homeowners responsible for tenants

Q: I have have a few questions for you today.

First: Our community manager says a tenant who has been served with a written violation notice to appear at a hearing (a copy was sent to the out-of-town owner) of the executive board does not have a right to attend the executive meeting to address the violation unless they present a letter from the owner stating the tenant is authorized to attend the executive session representing the owner. The manager says the law regarding attending executive meetings is clear: Only owners are allowed to attend and address the executive board hearings.

My tenant attended an executive hearing unbeknownst to me to address a violation she received and was treated quite shabbily. She was told by the HOA board she was a renter not an owner, she wasn’t allowed to be there, and she was accused of lying as they had a photo of the violation. When she asked to see the photo, she was told they didn’t have the photo at the meeting. I was charged a $100 no-show fine.

Second: Our governing documents state per the community manager that all owners are responsible for the actions of their tenants. I thought Nevada Revised Statutes 116.31031 says owners cannot be fined unless the owner participates, is involved or has knowledge of the violation and approves it.

Third: Are tenants prohibited from attending the open meeting unless they have a letter of authorization from the owner to attend? My tenant was attending the open meetings to find out the happenings — repairs, construction or changes that affect living conditions. When she asked a clarification question regarding work that was to be done, she was ignored because she wasn’t an owner.

A: Technically, the homeowner is responsible for the actions of their tenants. You should have received notices of the alleged violations prior to the hearing/fine notice. As a homeowner, you should have responded to these notices. In your response, you could have informed the board the tenant would be addressing the violation on your behalf, although it would have been more advantageous for you to have attended the hearing along with the tenant.

I am more than aware of NRS 116.31031 subsection 2 that you are referring to as to the fining of a unit owner as a result of the tenant’s action. Subsection 2 states that the board may not impose a fine against a unit owner for any violation committed by a guest of the unit’s owner or the tenant unless the unit’s owner: 1. Participated in or authorized the violation 2. Had prior notice of the violation or 3. Had an opportunity to stop the violation and failed to do so. Having prior notice of the violation means the association sent you a courtesy notice or a first violation notice prior to the hearing/fine notice. If you received the notices and failed to respond to them, you technically, according to the law, could be assessed a fine.

From a public relations viewpoint, the board could have been more courteous and could have allowed you to respond to the complaint or could have at least given you another opportunity to attend a hearing with the tenant, as opposed to fining you a $100 no-show. If it is the policy of the association that the homeowner needs to attend the hearings, that could have been communicated in a proper manner. The policy to require homeowners to attend when their tenants have alleged violations has merit because the association board does not want to have a homeowner complain, later or, that they were fined because their tenant attended a hearing and the tenant failed to properly present their case.

By law, board meetings can be only attended by the homeowners. Some boards do have policies where tenants are invited to their meetings (often due to the fact that the association may have a substantial number of tenants and the boards want to be inclusive of them since the tenants are also residents of their communities).

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. Questions may be sent to the Association Q&A, P.O. Box 80360, Las Vegas, NV 89180. Fax is 702-385-3759, email is support@hlrealty.com.