American Indian tribe’s laws override HOA regulations

Q: I live on an American Indian reservation in Nevada that has a homeowner association. Are such associations covered by NRS 116?

A: The answer is that the tribe has the ultimate jurisdiction over all legal matters and the NRS 116 is only a guide. If any NRS 116 sections conflict with tribal law or ordinances, the tribal laws and ordinances prevail.

Q: Our association has in its covenants that owners cannot rent their units.

This started in January 2005.

Those owners who had existing tenants were grandfathered. We have an owner who purchased property after that date and he said he has sold his property under a contract of sale and is holding the paper.

We requested a copy of that contract, excluding the purchase price.

Are we within our rights to request this information?

Also, we require homeowners to give us a copy of their lease agreement.

The homeowner said it was not in the covenants and he did not have to submit it. Does this requirement have to be in the covenants in order for us to request a copy of the lease agreement?

We just want to make sure that he is not renting his unit like a motel.

A: If the association wants to know who is the owner of record, it can contact the Clark County Recorder's Office or the Tax Assessor Department.

The association needs a copy of the deed and not a contract of sale.

In order to determine if an owner is renting his home as a motel (on a daily or weekly basis) versus a six-month lease agreement, the association would need to have a copy of the lease.

Often this requirement is found in the rules and regulations as opposed to the covenants.

Generally speaking, there are sections in the covenants that allow associations to develop specific rules in order to enforce the covenants.

The reader will need to review the governing documents, and if necessary, have legal counsel review them to see if they have the right to require cooperation and to enforce this provision.

Q: Our bylaws clearly state that in order to become a member of the board of directors, the candidate must be a homeowner in good standing with the association.

We recently discovered through the Clark County Recorder's Office that the president of the board did not own the condominium she was living in at the time of the election.

It is recorded on the deed that she became owner two weeks after the election. Furthermore, she served on the board a few years back. We find this to be a clear and concise violation.

However, the board refuses to take any actions. What are our options?

A: NRS 116.31034 subsection 1 states that the owners shall elect an executive board of at least three members. At least a majority of the directors must be owners unless otherwise stated in the association's governing documents. If allowed by your bylaws, and if you had a three-person board, two of the directors would have to be owners.

The reader must first review the governing documents to see if there is such a clause that only requires the majority of directors be owners.

If that is the case, then the current president would not have to be a unit owner.

If the board refuses to act on this matter, which basically would be to hold another election for this seat (the current president could place her name on the ballot), then the reader would have to file a complaint with the ombudsman office.

The ombudsman would be able to investigate the complaint and assist the reader either through an intervention where the parties agree to meet or to advise the reader to file for arbitration or mediation.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and is the author of two books on the subject. Holland is a past president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Questions may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759. Questions may be edited for spelling and grammar.