Nevada’s HOA system gives private actors the first move. Developers write declarations, associations exercise powers those declarations confer, and government often comes later—after owners are already bound. The result is a legislative game of HOA Whack-a-Mole.

Nevada law says HOA owners have a right to exhibit political signs. But it does not expressly define important boundaries such as minimum size or display period. That seemingly simple gap points to a much larger question: who decides how much authority an HOA may exercise in the first place?

Nevada has spent decades managing particular exercises of HOA authority. But it has done comparatively little to define the outer boundaries of that authority—what an HOA may be empowered to own, operate, regulate, or require its owners to do and finance through the declaration. What limits the scope of an association’s authority and obligations in the first place? Whatever the developer puts into the declaration?

Many HOAs are well run. NVHOAReform focuses on what happens when they are not—and why criticism of HOA governance is not the same as opposition to HOAs.

Nevada specifically prohibits harassment in homeowners associations. But the way the law is enforced creates a striking imbalance: owners may have little regulatory recourse, while boards can pursue alleged owner misconduct through increasingly powerful enforcement avenues.

Nevada’s HOA Commission has already voted to adopt R091-25. Yet when FOX5 asked NRED to explain the controversial HSW language, state officials declined, saying comment would be “premature.” That raises a larger question about accountability in Nevada’s HOA regulatory system.

Buying into an HOA means accepting a system of governance. It does not mean surrendering the right to question whether the board had authority, followed the governing documents, or stayed within Nevada law.

Nevada may have some of the nation’s strongest HOA laws. But knowing what the law says is only the beginning. Fine limits, hearings, NRED complaints, mediation and even “you can sue” come with realities owners need to understand.

Can a board take speech that is harsh, persistent, even insulting or upsetting, characterize it as “harassment,” and then bootstrap it into a health, safety and welfare violation carrying fines with no statutory limit? If the owner disagrees, the only remaining response can become: Sue us. That Is a Powerful Disincentive. Moving the dispute into civil litigation gives an HOA board an enormous practical advantage.

If that theory holds, almost any unresolved dispute with an association — including one created by the board itself — can become a potential basis for exclusion. An owner challenges an assessment, enforcement action, architectural decision, records denial, maintenance failure, litigation position, or other board action. If the matter remains unresolved, counsel can argue that the owner might later influence it as a director and might benefit from the outcome.

Boards should seek legal advice. But advice of counsel does not create statutory authority—and it should not become a reason for Nevada’s HOA regulator to avoid deciding what Chapter 116 actually requires.

HOA boards should seek legal advice. But advice of counsel does not create statutory authority, and it should not become de facto Nevada HOA law simply because no regulator or court tests it.

Nevada lawmakers directed regulators to establish criteria, severity standards and limits governing extraordinary HOA health, safety and welfare fines. After years of delay, the CIC Commission approved R091-25. The result gives HOA boards substantial discretion—and removes protections owners had every reason to expect.

Advice of counsel can help show that an HOA board acted on an informed basis. But it should not replace independent regulatory review. When NRED closes complaints without publicly resolving the underlying legal question, aggressive legal opinions can become de facto law without statutory or precedential support.

NRED’s expanding use of confidentiality may be doing more than protecting investigations. It may be allowing substantive interpretations of Nevada HOA law to develop outside meaningful public and Commission oversight.