JomassNevada’s turf law: does it apply to your lawn?
This is the question we get asked most, usually in the form of “I heard they are making us rip out our grass.” The short answer is no, and the longer answer is worth knowing if you live under an HOA.
Short answer
No. Nevada’s Assembly Bill 356 does not apply to grass at a single-family residence. It prohibits Southern Nevada Water Authority water from irrigating nonfunctional turf on property that is not zoned exclusively as a single-family residence, from 1 January 2027. Your own front and back lawn is outside it.
What the law actually says
AB 356 passed in June 2021. It directs the removal of what it calls nonfunctional turf — grass that exists to be looked at rather than used — on property that is not zoned exclusively for single-family residences, and prohibits SNWA water from irrigating it from the start of 2027.
The distinction the law turns on is not decorative versus nice. It is the zoning of the parcel. A single-family home is exempt; a commercial frontage, an office park verge or a strip of grass along an entry road generally is not.
Where it does reach a homeowner
Through the HOA. Common areas, entry medians and clubhouse verges usually sit on parcels that are not zoned exclusively single-family, which brings them inside the law. If your association is planning conversions, budgeting for them, or writing to owners about landscape changes, this is usually why.
So the law can change the street you live on without touching your own yard.
If you want to replace grass anyway
Plenty of people do, and the reasons are usually the summer water bill and the mowing rather than any legislation. The Southern Nevada Water Authority runs a turf-replacement rebate for converting living grass to desert landscaping; the current rate and the conditions are on their site, and they change, so it is worth reading rather than taking a number from anyone.
Synthetic turf is a different decision from desert conversion, and worth being clear-eyed about: it stays green with no water and no mowing, and it gets hot in direct summer sun. Which one suits depends on whether the space is looked at or used.
What we would check first
Whether the grass is actually being used. A back lawn a dog and children use is doing a job. A narrow strip along a driveway that exists to be mown is the one worth converting first, whatever the law says.
Common questions
- Does Nevada’s turf law mean I have to remove my home lawn?
- No. AB 356 does not apply to grass at a single-family residence. It covers nonfunctional turf on property that is not zoned exclusively as a single-family residence, from 1 January 2027.
- What counts as nonfunctional turf?
- Grass that exists to be looked at rather than used, on a parcel that is not zoned exclusively for single-family residences — for example commercial frontages, medians and HOA common areas.
- Can my HOA be required to remove grass?
- HOA common areas often sit on parcels that are not zoned exclusively single-family, which brings them within the law. Individual owners’ yards are not covered.