Condo tenant could have fines deducted from rent

Q: I rent a condo in Las Vegas with a property manager and also has a homeowners association. The HOA has imposed fines, which I’ve disputed and was denied. The property management company emailed me demanding payment or it will deduct from my rent which will make my rent late and the board will begin eviction process, is that legal?

A: You need to check your lease agreement. If there is a section in your lease agreement that states that you must abide by the association’s governing documents and that you would be responsible for fines, the management company could deduct those fines from your rent and could begin the eviction process.

Did you attend a hearing with the board and the landlord or with the management company? The association cannot impose fines without a hearing. You need to discuss this matter with your management company, in particular why the association denied your dispute. If you do not have a copy of the association’s governing documents, you would need to obtain them from the management company to better understand why the board assessed the fines.

Q: I would like to know the rule on living in a single-family residence. The house next to me has been a nightmare of tenants and owners for five years, and now it is being remodeled. The new owners added two bedrooms downstairs. That makes three bedrooms downstairs and four bedrooms on the second floor. A total of seven bedrooms. That tells me that they are going to move in more than one family.

Since I bought in a single-family residence neighborhood, is there anything to do about this. The HOA rules say one family, but if their last names are the same how will anyone know. The HOA manager said there is nothing that can be done.

I’m so tired of this bad house next door.

A: Yourproblem is one that the city or county needs to become involved. There may be an occupancy code that would prevent such an expansion that too many people would be living inside one home. You should also contact code enforcement as the owner may not have pulled a permit and again that the expansion may be against building codes.

As to the association, you need to review the community rules to see if there are any occupancy codes and if the homeowner needs to have an architectural approval for this expansion from the board. Regardless of who lives in the home, the association should at least review the architectural section of the covenants to see if the homeowner needs permission from the association.

Q: I read your article online from 2014 regarding ham radio legislation and what might be appropriate. It was actually closest to the information I was looking for.

I was just elected president of an HOA in Green Valley, Ariz., and we’ve got a guy who has set precedence by putting up a “beam” system on his roof. It’s ugly, but no one has complained. Now, another guy is asking to have a different system.

We are currently rewriting the community rules. I wonder if you have any resources for me on what constitutes reasonable accommodation since everything on the Internet seems to be either for or against but no guidelines and since I have no clue as to what is reasonable it would be nice if there were some guidelines.

A: This is not an area of expertise for me but here is what I would recommend. Check state, city and county laws and ordinances. They may be a little difficult to find by yourself so don’t hesitate to actually call and talk to a real live person who can assist you. Also, contact the Federal Communications Commission, which can provide you with the current federal regulations as well as potential laws and regulations that are being considered. The contact number that I have is 888-225-5322 or 202-418-2120. You need to realize the federal government considers ham radio operations as part of our rights to freedom of speech.

Barbara Holland is a certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.