05-05-2025
‘Classism' in the capital at hearing on HOAs, Neal says
'There were just very interesting comments on the Senate side that I felt were just very classism,' Sen. Dina Neal said on Friday during the Assembly Judiciary hearing. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current)
A legislative hearing on a bill intended to give homeowners some 'wiggle room' and avoid the onerous fines imposed by homeowners' associations exposed what state Sen. Dina Neal called 'classism' on the part of HOA industry representatives and opponents.
Senate Bill 121 would, among other things, afford cash-strapped new homeowners three years rather than 180 days to landscape their backyards. An HOA could require that owners put down a single layer of rocks after 18 months, to prevent blowing dust.
'Most people have spent most of their money on the refrigerator, the blinds, the furniture, and they actually don't have the funds' to spend within six months on landscaping, Neal, a Democrat from North Las Vegas, said while presenting SB 121 to the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Friday. 'Home ownership is very important. Achieving the American Dream is very important. But not all people are walking into a home with the same amount of money in their bank account.'
New homebuyers are 'fully informed' of their obligations, HOA attorney Adam Clarkson had earlier testified in opposition to the bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee in April on its way to passage in the Senate. 'When they purchase a home, they know whether or not they can do it. The bright line test is don't purchase these homes if you don't want to have to do this.'
However, finding a home that's not in a HOA is a challenge in Nevada, where HOAs represent the owners of 623,917 housing units – half of the state's 1.3 million homes, according to the state.
'You're protecting people that bought something they couldn't afford in the first place, knowing that they couldn't afford it, while at the same time you're harming their neighbors,' Clarkson said. 'Now they're not going to be in this beautiful community, because you've taken that away from them, because now people don't have to do the landscaping, and they're going to have those blights in the neighborhood.'
Mark Leon, president of the Mountain's Edge Master Association, agreed with Clarkson while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in April.
'If landscaping your backyard is too much of a burden for you to handle, then buy a house that was already landscaped,' Leon suggested, adding the provision 'only has the effect of pandering to homeowners too lazy or too unwilling to follow through on their obligation to the community, and that directly affects the property values of their neighbors who are working hard to build their new home.'
'There were just very interesting comments on the Senate side that I felt were just very classism,' Neal said on Friday during the Assembly Judiciary hearing.
At the hearing in April, Neal said she 'slightly took offense to the idea that you shouldn't buy the home if you can't afford to landscape your backyard,' adding she doesn't 'believe that a homeowner should be labeled as lazy' or told to find another home if they don't like the rules.
Failing to comply with HOA rules can be costly. The boards wield powers generally reserved for government tribunals. They can assess fines, deny property rights, and even foreclose.
Neal's bill is intended to take the sting out of common complaints from homeowners.
Current regulations permit an HOA to require a resident whose vehicle has a commercial logo or ad to cover it with a magnet. SB 121 would eliminate the requirement for all vehicles, with the exception of those with a 'sexual portrayal or depicting an image relating to the sale of a controlled substance.'
The bill would prohibit an association from assessing late fees sooner than 30 days after an obligation becomes past due, and from reporting any past due obligation to a credit agency. There was no opposition to that provision.
The legislation would also curtail an HOA from assessing a fine for an oil stain that is entirely on a homeowner's driveway, however, a homeowner could still be responsible for oil stains on the asphalt in front of their property.
'My vehicles do not leak but my neighbors' do,' testified Tanya Bates, an HOA community manager in Washoe County. 'I still clean the oil stains on my street to prevent oil from being tracked into my home. It's a maintenance obligation for homeowners.'
An amendment offered by the HOA industry would, among other things, reduce the proposed landscaping deadline to 12 months to lay down rocks and 24 months to complete landscaping.
'I haven't decided if it is friendly or not,' Neal said when asked if she'd accepted it. 'There are provisions I appreciate and there are provisions I do not.'
The committee did not take any action on the measure.
