What do Nevada's 2025 HOA law changes mean for volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 27, 2026

Nevada HOA law changes for boards: AB 396 rental rules, the 15 and 35 day solar deadlines, religious door displays, resale insurance proof and the SB 121 veto.

Part of the HOA board handbook: new state laws for boards.

The short answer

Nevada's Legislature meets in odd years, so the 2025 session governs until the next regular session in February 2027. Five enacted bills change how a Nevada board works under chapter 116 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), the Uniform Common-Interest Ownership Act. SB 201 protects religious and cultural items on doors and doorframes (NRS 116.323, in effect since July 1, 2025). SB 440 put hard deadlines on solar requests (NRS 116.333 and 116.334, since October 1, 2025). AB 396 rewrote the rental rules in NRS 116.335, added proof of insurance to the resale package and raised state fines, all in effect July 1, 2026. AB 478 changed construction start hours, and AB 10 lets cities and counties take over repairs of association-owned water and sewer systems. The bill most owners heard about, SB 121, never became law. The governor vetoed it on June 5, 2025, so its late fee, credit reporting and parking limits do not apply. Your declaration, bylaws and rules still control wherever the statute leaves room, and every community is different. This is a briefing to take to your attorney, not legal advice.

Rentals: what AB 396 changed on July 1, 2026

Rental rules are the biggest change for most boards. The new NRS 116.335(1) says that if your declaration lets the association prohibit or restrict renting, or sets a maximum number or percentage of rented units, the association may adopt rules restricting rentals to the extent the restriction is reasonably related to meeting the underwriting requirements of mortgage lenders or of insurers that cover associations or units. NRS 116.31065(4) was amended so that rules adopted this way do not have to match the rest of the governing documents. AB 396 also lets an association amend its declaration to restrict leasing for the same lender or insurer reasons (NRS 116.2117(9)). That matters because the usual protection for current owners in 116.2117(6), which keeps a new use restriction from applying to someone who already owns, now begins "Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9." Two new owner rights come with it. An owner shut out because the rental cap is full can ask the board for a waiver based on economic hardship, and the board may grant it (NRS 116.335(3)(a)). Declarant-owned units do not count toward the cap (116.335(3)(b)). The rewrite also deleted several old subsections of 116.335, including the limits on requiring approval to rent, on lowering a rental cap by amendment, and on what the association could ask a renting owner to register. Before you change your leasing policy or start charging a registration fee, have counsel confirm what other law still limits you.

Solar requests: 15 days or 35 days

SB 440 added NRS 116.333 and 116.334. They apply when your governing documents let the association regulate architectural improvements and an owner wants a solar system on the part of the property the owner has the exclusive right to use. The deadline depends on whether the board has adopted solar rules under 116.334: - No solar rules: the association must approve the request within 15 days. It may not deny it or attach conditions. - Solar rules adopted: approve or deny within 35 days. A denial must be in writing, give the reasons and rest on the adopted rules. Silence for 35 days means the request is approved. - Resubmitted request that fixes the stated problems: approve or deny within 15 days, or it is approved. Adopt solar rules before the next request arrives. Without them you have 15 days and no conditions at all. What the rules may say is spelled out. They must not conflict with the National Electrical Code or local and state law, and they must require a licensed solar installer. They may require panels that do not face the street, unless that cuts production by more than 10 percent on the federal PVWatts calculator; conduit painted to match the house; batteries stored in the garage; and inverters kept out of street view. The owner can skip the street-facing and conduit rules by handing you an itemized estimate, dated within 60 days, from a licensed installer unaffiliated with the owner or the association, showing compliance would cost more than 3 percent of the installation price. The board may not unreasonably refuse a barrier that keeps animals out or hides the equipment, or insist on one type.

Solar on a roof the association maintains

If the panels go on a roof or exterior the association repairs, NRS 116.334(3)(e) lets the board require a signed agreement, which may be recorded. It may say that the owner pays for any damage the system causes, removes it at the owner's expense when the association needs to work on the roof, and pays the association's costs if the owner does not remove it after reasonable notice. It may also require the owner to install exactly what was approved, carry insurance naming the association as additional insured, indemnify the association and its agents, let the association inspect the system, and disclose the arrangement to buyers. Have counsel draft one standard agreement now and attach it to every approval letter. Our guide on how to review an owner request for solar on a roof the HOA maintains covers the inspection and roofing side.

Religious and cultural items on doors

Since July 1, 2025, NRS 116.323 bars the board and the governing documents from prohibiting an owner or occupant from displaying religious or cultural items in the part of the property they have the exclusive right to use. A mezuzah on a front door frame is the classic example. The protection has limits. It does not cover a display larger than 36 by 12 inches or larger than the door, one that threatens health or safety, blocks the door from opening or closing, breaks a law, promotes discrimination, or is obscene. The board may still adopt rules that reasonably restrict placement and manner. The door repair rule is where boards slip. Before the association replaces or repaints entry doors or frames, it must give written notice at least 7 days before the work, except in an emergency. It can either ask the owner to take the item down or, if the owner agrees or does not answer within a reasonable time, remove it, store it respectfully, document what it did, and put it back within 72 hours after the work is done. In a lawsuit over this section, the winner recovers attorney fees. Sample notice line: "Crews will replace entry doors in Building C starting June 9. If you have a religious or cultural item on your door or frame, please remove it by June 8 or reply to tell us you would like the association to remove and store it. It will be back on your door within 72 hours after the work ends." Our guide on handling religious holiday displays on HOA common area covers displays outside the door.

Resale packages, state fines and termination votes

AB 396 made three smaller changes that took effect July 1, 2026. - Resale packages. NRS 116.4109(1)(g) now requires proof of the insurance policies the association must carry under NRS 116.3113. Ask your agent for a current certificate and keep it in the standard packet. - Fines from the state. The Commission for Common-Interest Communities and Condominium Hotels can now fine up to $5,000 per violation, up from $1,000 (NRS 116.785). The association pays fines imposed on a director or officer unless the person acted knowingly and willfully. - Termination and boundaries. Ending the community now takes at least 80 percent of all votes, including 80 percent of the votes of units the declarant does not own (NRS 116.2118(1)). An amendment that changes a unit's boundaries or allocated interests also needs a majority of the votes of units not owned by the declarant (116.2117(4)).

Construction hours, water systems and the vetoed bill

AB 478 took effect when signed in 2025. Where a city or county limits construction start times, NRS 116.347 now applies statewide: a declarant-controlled community may not restrict start times between April 1 and September 30 to anything other than the local ordinance. Section 3.7 of the bill also voids any local ordinance that does not let work more than 300 feet from an occupied home start by 5 a.m. in those months, and any governing document provision more restrictive than the bill. AB 10 (chapter 62, approved May 28, 2025) lets counties, cities and towns fold repairs of water or sewer systems owned by a common-interest community into a neighborhood improvement project under NRS 271.147. Owners repay the cost through assessments on each property. SB 121 passed both houses and was vetoed. It would have barred late fees in the first 30 days, banned reporting delinquent owners to credit bureaus, limited backyard landscaping deadlines for new homes, and stopped associations from restricting parked vehicles with commercial lettering. None of that is law. If an owner cites it, the veto letter is in the sources below.

What the board should do this year

Bring this list to the next meeting. 1. Pull every leasing rule and rental cap and match each one to a written lender or insurer requirement. Decide how the board will handle hardship waiver requests. 2. Adopt solar rules under NRS 116.334 and a standard roof agreement, and give the architectural committee a 15 and 35 day calendar. 3. Add the 7 day notice and 72 hour return steps for religious items to the door and painting project checklist. 4. Add the certificate of insurance to the resale package. 5. Have counsel mark anything in your documents that conflicts with NRS 116.323, 116.334 or 116.347 and repeal it by resolution. A motion to start: "Moved, that the board direct the secretary to update the resale packet, door project checklist and architectural procedures to comply with AB 396, SB 201 and SB 440, and ask counsel to review the leasing rules and draft solar rules for adoption at the next meeting."

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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