Community rules says no pets

Q: My board president at the Palisades Point Homeowners Association reads the articles you write for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and has asked me to reach out to you in regard to a situation we are dealing with at their condominium association. Per the governing documents of the community, tenants are not permitted to have pets. We have a tenant who has two puppies, and violation notices have been sent to the unit resident and the unit owner per the penalty policy of the association. To keep the association quiet, the tenants have stopped taking the dogs out to use the bathroom on the grass and are now allowing them to use the patio. A notice has been sent regarding this as well, and as an extra step, a certified letter was sent to the owner detailing the violations and what needs to be done to correct them, or fines will be issued. I was also looking at contacting animal control to see what steps it can take, but do you have any suggestions on what else we can do to get rid of these dogs? Me and my board would appreciate any insight you can give.

A: There are a couple of issues. The tenants are violating the association’s rules by having pets. Since the association already has sent courtesy notices to the homeowner, the association can now send a hearing fine notice to this owner, who is responsible for the actions of her tenants. She has been informed that her tenants are now allowing their pets to utilize the patio for depositing their waste. Again, since the association already has sent the homeowner the proper notices, the association can send a second hearing fine notice to this homeowner. In essence, there could be two fines being assessed against her account.

The second violation is considered a health and safety one. If the homeowner does not remedy the problem with these tenants, and if she does not pay the fines, the association is allowed to begin the foreclosure process for nonpayment of a health and safety fine.

To place additional pressure on this homeowner, the community manager should contact the Southern Nevada Health District, as well as Clark County Animal Control. Hopefully, these two agencies will assist this community.

Q: I was recently walking my two dogs at night down a path that goes from my street to another one. The path has a grassy area, and a rack with doggy bags and a small garbage can. All of a sudden the sprinklers went on, spraying me and the dogs. I’m wondering if there are any rules about posting watering times, so this doesn’t happen again.

A: There are no regulations about posting the watering schedule; although it may be a good idea to include the times in your association’s next newsletter.

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