A proposed change to Nevada law could empower local governments to step in and fix water and sewer systems at communities with homeowner’s associations. Henderson introduced Assembly Bill 10 in response to a crisis at the Somerset Park community, where a broken underground water distribution system was leaking 1 million gallons of water per month. The city was forced to intervene to prevent residents from being displaced. The proposed law would allow local governments to repair or replace similar systems at HOAs with a repayment plan in place.
The situation at Somerset exposed the limitations of relying on homeowners associations to cover necessary repairs. In this case, the association had no funds available, leaving the responsibility solely on the property owners. The Henderson City Council fronted the nearly $700,000 for repairs and implemented a lien-based payment plan for homeowners who couldn’t immediately pay the costs.
Henderson hopes that AB 10 will prevent similar situations in the future by giving local governments the flexibility to act before a crisis occurs. The bill allows for discretion on the part of elected leaders, but once a decision is made to intervene, homeowners would not have the option to opt out.
While concerns have been raised about the lack of specifics regarding repayment timelines, supporters believe the bill is narrowly focused on addressing essential infrastructure issues and is not intended to address broader HOA-related issues. The goal is to ensure the health and safety of residents by providing a mechanism for local governments to act in situations where HOAs are unable or unwilling to address critical infrastructure problems.
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