Community association retreats from perimeter wall maintenance

     By Barbara Holland, CPM
      Q. Our association, which was formed in 1986, has dues of just $500 per year.
      Until recently, the association maintained our perimeter walls.
      Without warning, the association passed this responsibility to the owners announcing it in our newsletter. The western perimeter wall has been hit four or five times during the past four years, causing extensive damage, as in hit-and-run cases. In our rules and regulations, nothing is mentioned.
      I would appreciate your comments.
      A. The article in the newsletter does not explain why the board has made a change in policy. It states that the board decided that lot owners abutting the perimeter walls will be responsible for the repair and painting of damaged walls. It also states the association will pay half of the owners' insurance deductible and, when deemed appropriate, the board shall have the walls periodically painted.
      The newsletter indicated the board amended its architectural rules and regulations. To determine if the board acted within its authority, you will have to review the governing documents pertaining to architectural control, specifically the section that pertains to how rules are established and changed. The information within the architectural section would probably establish the guidelines.
      When making major policy changes, boards have an obligation to explain why, especially, as in this case, when it is changing precedent. Reading between the lines, it would appear the association does not have adequate funds to make these repairs continuously, since dues are $500 per year. Hence, the association wants only to subsidize part of the costs with the unit owners.
      Your community is probably a planned unit development where the owners are responsible for the exterior maintenance of their homes and back yards. The covenants already establish the regulation that owners who share the exterior walls that divide their lot lines must assume the burden of maintaining these walls.
      The perimeter walls serve two purposes: To enclose the community and to enclose a particular owner's back yard. Both the association in general and the owner in particular are provided privacy and security. State law states that any common expense or portion thereof benefiting fewer than all of the units must be assessed exclusively to the units benefited.
      This is all speculation.
      You need to send a formal letter to the board, asking for the rationale for the change and for the board to identify the section of the governing documents that allowed them to make such a change. If the board fails to answer the letter, you should file a formal complaint with the ombudsman of the Nevada Real Estate Division. This matter may also be resolved through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Process, which falls under the Real Estate Division.
      Questions for Barbara Holland may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759.
      Barbara Holland, Certified Property Manager, is president and co-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.