Emergency Lighting Compliance Matters
As a board member or property manager of a homeowner’s association (HOA) in Nevada, one of your top priorities should be safety. Proper emergency lighting — especially in common areas such as stairwells, hallways, garages, and exit paths — isn’t just nice to have; in many cases, it’s essential for compliance with building codes and for protecting residents.
Why it Matters?
- Safety & Liability: Emergency lighting ensures that, in case of a power outage or other emergency (fire, earthquake, etc.), residents and visitors have clear, illuminated paths to exits. Without adequate lighting, risk of accidents increases, and the HOA could bear liability for injuries. Under general premises-liability principles, HOAs have a duty to “protect residents and guests visiting its property from foreseeable harm on the land it controls.”
- Security & Community Confidence: Adequate lighting discourages vandalism or crime — especially around garages, parking lots, stairwells, and common-area walkways.
- Regulatory / Code Compliance: Many multi-family dwellings, condominiums, or buildings with shared common areas are required under building and fire-safety codes to have functioning exit and emergency lighting systems.
What Nevada Law & HOA Governance Dictates
- HOAs in Nevada are governed by the Nevada Common‑Interest Ownership Act (NRS Chapter 116) when they oversee common-interest communities (e.g., condos, planned developments).
- The HOA’s governing documents (CC&Rs, bylaws, rules) remain the foundation for responsibilities — including maintenance, repairs, and safety of common are
- While state-wide statutes like NRS 278A (for planned developments) require exterior lighting for private drives/streets in some developments, they don’t specifically regulate emergency lighting inside buildings or within common-interior areas.
- Because codes governing emergency lighting (for example exit/egress lighting) are often drawn from building- and fire-safety codes (e.g., the International Building Code (IBC), NFPA 101: Life Safety Code, or local fire codes), compliance depends on building type, occupancy, and how the development is classified — not strictly on HOA law.
- That said — even if state law doesn’t expressly require interior emergency lighting for all HOAs — the HOA board still has a duty of care and should consider safety standards and liability when governing common-area lighting (including emergency lighting).
Implementing & Maintaining Emergency Lighting
If your HOA wants to get ahead and ensure its properties are safe — and potentially avoid liability — consider the following best practices:
- Inventory all common-area spaces: Identify garages, stairwells, hallways, mail-center zones, parking areas, walkways, exits — anywhere residents or guests might pass during a power failure.
- Install proper emergency / exit lighting systems: Use lights that activate automatically (battery-backed or generator-powered) to remain illuminated for at least 90 minutes during a power outage, and that maintain a minimum level of illumination (e.g., 1 foot-candle at floor level along egress paths).
- Ensure coverage at all egress points: Lights should be placed at exit doors, stairways, corridor intersections, ramps — any change in direction along a route, or anywhere visibility could be compromised.
- Routine maintenance & testing: Establish a maintenance schedule to clean fixtures, replace dead/malfunctioning bulbs or batteries, and test the backup power regularly to ensure reliability during outages.
- Review HOA governing documents (CC&Rs, Rules): Make sure the community’s governing documents authorize the HOA to install or maintain emergency lighting systems — especially if installation may affect individual units or external features. Many HOAs restrict modifications to homes or exteriors unless approved.
- Communicate with residents: Let homeowners know why emergency lighting is being installed/maintained, and how it benefits the community — safety, security, potential insurance benefits, and preserving property
Nevada Illumination has over 50 years of experience providing emergency lighting installation, retrofit and maintenance services to Homeowner Associations and their Property Management partners. Please talk with us about any of your lighting questions, requirement or inspection needs. (702) 735-8975
What HOAs and Residents Should Check / Ask
If you’re part of a Nevada HOA (board member or homeowner), here are practical questions to evaluate compliance and safety:
- Do our buildings/facilities include common-area corridors, stairwells, garages, or shared spaces that would require emergency lighting under building or fire codes?
- When was the last time we inspected or tested emergency/exit lighting (including backup power)?
- Do our CC&Rs or HOA rules allow adding, upgrading, or maintaining lighting in common areas — and who approves such changes?
- Do we have documentation (inspection reports, maintenance records, test logs) showing the lighting system is functional and reliable?
- Are we aligned with local building/fire-safety codes applicable to our city or county (since codes may differ depending on jurisdiction)?
Always Better Safe Than Sorry
Even though state HOA laws (like the Nevada Common-Interest Ownership Act) don’t explicitly mandate emergency lighting in all HOAs, the combination of legal duties, safety standards, and potential liability makes it a wise — often essential — investment. For any HOA in Nevada managing common-interest communities or multi-family buildings, proactively implementing and maintaining emergency lighting is a key component of responsible governance.
