In the 2021 Legislative Session the Nevada Real Estate Division championed a bill addressing several concerns it had with the application of NRS Chapter 116.  Among those concerns was whether in this modern age, Nevada homeowners’ associations must continue to send notices by first-class mail, unless opted out by the Unit Owner.  Instead, of opting out of notice by regular mail, the Division wanted to require notices via electronic mail, unless a Unit’s Owner opted out, a statutory provision stated a more-specific form of notice; or the Unit Owner failed to provide an email address.

To address the needless expense of the postage needed to mail notices, as part of Senate Bill 186, the Division sought to amend NRS 116.31068.  Despite the Division’s efforts, however, the final version of SB186, Section 1.7 ended up stating, in part, that:

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 and unless a unit’s owner opts out of receiving electronic communications or has not designated an electronic mail address, an association shall deliver any notice required to be given by the association under this chapter and any communication from or other information provided by the association to the mailing and electronic mail addresses a unit’s owner designates.

Senate Bill 186 (emphasis added).  Accordingly, as enacted, Nevada homeowners’ associations would be required to send notices by both electronic and regular mail to the addresses on file.  This language not only failed to avoid the expense of sending notices via regular mail, it potentially increased the expense by also requiring all notices be sent electronically.

Recognizing this as an error, following the 2021 Legislative Session, the Division placed a “temporary pause” on any enforcement of Section 1.7 to SB186.  That pause on the enforcement of NRS 116.31068.1 ended on March 7, 2022, when the Division issued its Updated Guidance on Senate Bill 186.

That Updated Guidance states that on February 28, 2022, by unanimous vote, the Legislative Commission voted to change the “and” in Section 1.7 to an “or”.  Accordingly, the corrected provisions of SB186 now reads, in pertinent part, that:

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 and unless a unit’s owner opts out of receiving electronic communications or has not designated an electronic mail address, an association shall deliver any notice required to be given by the association under this chapter and any communication from or other information provided by the association to the mailing or electronic mail addresses a unit’s owner designates.

(Division’s March 7, 2022 Updated Guidance on Senate Bill 186 (emphasis in original)).  Given the revised provisions of NRS 116.31068.1, a Nevada homeowners’ association may send all notices via electronic mail to the email address provided by a Unit’s Owner, unless a provision of Nevada law requires that notice be given by a different method; a Unit Owner has not provided an email address; or the Unit Owner has opted out of electronic notification.  This revision should help Nevada homeowners’ associations avoid considerable postage expenses and hopefully help to open up the communications between associations and the homeowners they serve.

Should you have any questions regarding the notice required for a particular circumstance,
please contact Troy at (702) 529-2559.