HOA has no authority to evict problem renter from home

Q: Many thanks for your contribution of educating residents and board members of homeowners associations.

My question is: We have a problem tenant (a renter) in an upper unit who has created issues for the lower unit. The person living in the lower unit has called the police many times, and tenants in the upper unit have stopped answering the doors, producing no police response.

The HOA board has called the owner to a hearing on these many calls to police, of which the board has fined the owner $150 per week. The owner has paid the last fine of $100 a month for the same violation. The owner seems to be dragging his feet on this issue; any suggestions of getting these tenants out of the property?

A: Unfortunately, other than fining the homeowner, the association has no eviction authority to remove the tenant from the community.

Q: In my community we have a Residents Advisory Committee meeting once a month where the residents get to talk about the deficiencies in the community.

I am being told that the regular HOA board at the next regular board meeting will be voting to change this vital meeting to every three months. The board is made up of five board members: three homebuilders and two community members.

I am against the change because it doesn’t serve the homeowners’ ability to get a message to the regular board in a timely matter. The Residents Advisory Committee relays concerns of what needs attention.

I feel this new move only serves the builders who don’t want complaints. So, many of us homeowners don’t want (to wait three months to meet). Shouldn’t they ask the homeowners to vote on the change? How can I prevent them from passing this motion?

A: Your concerns pertaining to the proposed change should be strongly voiced at the first homeowner forum. In addition, you should have other homeowners to voice their concerns, too. In answer to your question only homeowner persuasion can prevent the change as this is a board decision.

Q: I really enjoy reading your column in the R-J!

We have been in our new home for about 18 months, now, and all of the homes in our neighborhood have been completed, sold and are now occupied. There are only 27 homes in our development, and we love it!

We travel to the community management company’s office for our HOA meetings. They have been great to help us. Now, it is time to turn everything over to the homeowners.

Some of the neighbors would now like to meet in one of our homes. We usually have about 15 people show up for the meetings, and most of our homes are large enough to accommodate.

Here’s my question: Are we allowed to hold HOA meetings in one of our homes? First of all, is it legal? And if it is in keeping with the rules, do you think it is a good idea?

A: There is no law preventing an association meeting from being held in one of the homeowners’ residence.

You just have to make sure that everyone receives the notification of the meeting and where the meeting will be held.

Is it a good idea? It can be a good idea especially with smaller associations like yours but, unfortunately, there sometimes comes a time when a meeting can become unruly. As a homeowner, it’s my home and I would not want an altercation.

Barbara Holland is a certified property manager (CPM) and holds the supervisory community manager certificate with the state of Nevada. She is an author and educator on real estate management. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.