‘Party house’ ordinance best bet for neighbor

Q: Across the street from us is an empty 6,000-square-foot house. We don’t know who owns it. Can the owners rent the house for weekends, like a hotel? Different people come and go all of the time. We have a nice family neighborhood, and I do not like the situation. Should I contact the association? Is this legal or am I wasting my time?

A: You should contact your association. Most governing documents prohibit the renting of a home for fewer than 30 days. If you refer to your covenants, you will probably find a minimum lease period requirement from your association ranging from six months to 12 months. The association can write a courtesy letter that the homeowner is in violation of the governing documents and could fine the homeowner for continual violation upon proper hearing notice.

Also, Nevada Revised Statutes 116.340 prohibits “transient commercial use” unless the governing documents allow for such a short-term period. Transient commercial use is defined as “the use of a unit, for remuneration, as a hostel, hotel, inn, motel, resort, vacation rental or other form of transient lodging if the term of the occupancy, possession, or use of the unit is for less than 30 consecutive calendar days.”

Some readers may remember a series of Las Vegas Review-Journal articles about the Clark County Commission’s consideration of passing an ordinance known as “the party house.” The ordinance that was passed can be found under Clark County Code Section 30.44.010, which clearly identifies a prohibited use of “transient” commercial use of residential development.

Please also know that Clark County Code Section 30.08 defines “transient” not by the full length of a corporate lease agreement but by the length of time any tenant is allowed to use the leasehold premises, wherein it states, “… a person who utilizes accommodations … for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less.”

Don’t count too much on the county to help you resolve this code violation. For more than 18 months, one of my associations has been communicating with the county, providing documentation to one of the county’s staff member that monitors this kind of complaint.

The staff member has received copies of Internet advertisements offering the home for short-term weekend rentals, security logs that showed that “guests” were coming in and out of the home, and two short-term leases where the homeowner was renting just the bedrooms. None of this information could prompt the county to act.

My association president and vice president even met with our county commissioner to discuss this violation of both county code and of our governing documents. Unfortunately, to no avail.

For whatever reason, we have an ordinance on the books that can’t be enforced.

You and the association will bear the brunt of enforcing their governing document; the association may wish to use legal counsel.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. Questions may be sent to the Association Q&A, P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Fax is 702-385-3759, email is support@hlrealty.com.