Notice of defect: Required before commencement of or addition to certain actions; content; persons authorized to provide notice; exceptions.

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1. Except as otherwise provided in this section and NRS 40.670, before a claimant commences an action or amends a complaint to add a cause of action for a constructional defect against a contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional, the claimant:

(a) Must give written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the contractor, at the contractor’s address listed in the records of the State Contractors’ Board or in the records of the office of the county or city clerk or at the contractor’s last known address if the contractor’s address is not listed in those records; and

(b) May give written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to any subcontractor, supplier or design professional known to the claimant who may be responsible for the constructional defect, if the claimant knows that the contractor is no longer licensed in this State or that the contractor no longer acts as a contractor in this State.

2. The notice given pursuant to subsection 1 must:

(a) Include a statement that the notice is being given to satisfy the requirements of this section;

(b) Specify in reasonable detail the defects or any damages or injuries to each residence or appurtenance that is the subject of the claim;

(c) Describe in reasonable detail the cause of the defects if the cause is known and the nature and extent that is known of the damage or injury resulting from the defects; and

(d) Include a signed statement, by each named owner of a residence or appurtenance in the notice, that each such owner verifies that each such defect, damage and injury specified in the notice exists in the residence or appurtenance owned by him or her. If a notice is sent on behalf of a homeowners’ association, the statement required by this paragraph must be signed under penalty of perjury by a member of the executive board or an officer of the homeowners’ association.

3. A representative of a homeowners’ association may send notice pursuant to this section on behalf of an association if the representative is acting within the scope of the representative’s duties pursuant to chapter 116 or 117 of NRS.

4. Notice is not required pursuant to this section before commencing an action if:

(a) The contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional has filed an action against the claimant; or

(b) The claimant has filed a formal complaint with a law enforcement agency against the contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional for threatening to commit or committing an act of violence or a criminal offense against the claimant or the property of the claimant.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2540; A 1997, 2718; 1999, 1440; 2003, 2042; 2015, 10; 2019, 2259)


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