State laws don’t address political petitioning in HOAs

Q: Yesterday I observed a young man with some type of backpack going selectively to residences within our gated homeowners association. I stopped him and a discussion ensued. I learned he was visiting registered voters.

We have signs at each of our gates that clearly state no trespassing, no soliciting and no loitering. I asked him if he had written permission from the HOA to do what he was doing, knowing full well that we never did so.

He claims he didn’t need it. Really?

I expressed our sentiments regarding soliciting, and he said that he wasn’t; he claimed he was petitioning. He said he was allowed to do this by state law, which is not exactly how our HOA attorney explained it years ago. He said that he had been stopped in other communities and even spoken with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department that, according to him, was OK with his explanation.

I advised him that we felt he was trespassing. He said that he wasn’t, since he was on public streets. I corrected him very quickly. He said he only was visiting people on his list. I asked if they were expecting him, and he said, “No.”

I told him our community is security-oriented and asked how we were to know if his explanation was a ruse, and he was actually jiggling doorknobs. He offered his identification that would have proven nothing to us. I mentioned some of our residents are older and do not appreciate strangers being on their property. I further stated some of our residents work nights and sleep during the day, and definitely would not appreciate being woken because of his activity.

I saw it was a no-win discussion. He did give me a handout that, interestingly enough, was campaign literature for two well-known candidates and not just about general voting. Had he been from a city, county or state election organization, we would have been likely to concede. This one, being nothing but politically motivated, is something unacceptable to us. Another concern is whether we are going to be inundated with more, uh, campaigners.

Are you aware of any state laws allowing campaigning in gated communities? Would it be worth reporting this to some state, county or local election office and get their 2-cents about this?

A: Recently, Clark County revised its codes pertaining to soliciting within homeowners associations. Unfortunately, the codes excluded political soliciting within communities.

Nevada Revised Statutes 116 is silent as to soliciting, but not as to signage, as political signs are allowed until NRS 116.325. All political signs must not be larger than 24 inches by 36 inches. You can have only one sign per candidate, political party or ballot question. If the home is occupied by a tenant, the unit owner must obtain permission in writing from the tenant to exhibit any political signs at the unit owner’s home.

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