NRS 118A: Nevada Landlord-Tenant Rules on Deposits, Repairs, and Entry

Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 118A, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, is the state law that governs almost every residential rental in Nevada. It sets the rules for security deposits, late fees, habitability, landlord entry, notices to end a tenancy, and tenant remedies when a landlord doesn’t hold up their end. Its provisions override conflicting lease language, so any clause in your rental agreement that contradicts the statute is void.

Who the Law Covers

NRS 118A applies to rental agreements for dwelling units anywhere in Nevada, including single-family homes, apartments, and mobile homes used as residences.¹ If you rent a place to live, the chapter almost certainly applies to your situation.

A few living arrangements sit outside the statute. Hotel and motel stays shorter than 30 consecutive days are excluded unless the occupant clearly intends to stay longer.¹ Housing provided by medical or educational institutions, group homes for people with disabilities, and temporary shelters run by religious or social organizations also fall outside the chapter. Those situations are governed by different rules.

Written Leases and Required Disclosures

Before you move in, the landlord must give you written disclosures under NRS 118A.260: the name and address of the property manager, the name and address of a Nevada-based agent authorized to receive legal notices, the name and address of the owner, and a phone number for a responsible person living near the property who can be reached in an emergency. If the landlord fails to provide these, anyone who signed the lease on the landlord’s behalf is treated as the landlord’s agent for all purposes, including receiving lawsuits.

NRS 118A.200 spells out what every written lease must contain: the rent amount, when it is due, and how to pay it; rules on children and pets; the services included; who pays which utilities; all fees and their purposes; all deposits and the conditions for return; and any charges for late or partial payments or bounced checks.² Using a lease that leaves these items out is unlawful, and clauses that contradict the statute are void.

The lease must also include a signed record of the condition of the premises at the start of the tenancy. Walk through the unit with the landlord, note every existing defect, photograph what you can, and make sure the inventory is thorough before you sign. That signed record is what protects your security deposit at move-out.

Security Deposits: Cap, Return, and Penalties

Total up-front deposits, including any surety bond and last month’s rent, cannot exceed three months’ rent.³ For a $1,500 rental, the ceiling on everything combined is $4,500.

After the tenancy ends, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit together with a written, itemized accounting of any deductions. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, and damage beyond normal wear and tear, with specific costs listed for cleaning or repairs.³ A lease clause calling any part of the deposit “nonrefundable” is void, though a separate, reasonable nonrefundable cleaning fee is allowed.

A landlord who blows the 30-day deadline is liable for the full deposit plus a court-determined additional amount up to the full deposit again.³ In practical terms, a tenant can recover as much as double what the landlord kept.

Late Fees

Nevada caps late fees on rent at 5 percent of the periodic rent. For a $1,500 monthly rent, that’s $75. For any tenancy longer than week-to-week, the landlord cannot impose a late fee until at least three calendar days after the due date have passed, and the fee cannot compound based on previous late fees.⁴ Without a written lease, the presumption is that no late fees apply at all.

Habitability

NRS 118A.290 requires landlords to keep every rental unit habitable throughout the tenancy. A unit is not habitable if it violates housing or health codes affecting health and safety, or if it substantially lacks any of the following:⁴

A roof, exterior walls, windows, and doors that keep out rain and weather
Plumbing that conforms to the code in effect when installed, in working order
Hot and cold running water connected to an approved sewage system
Heating equipment that conforms to code and works
Lighting, outlets, and wiring that conform to code and are safely maintained
Adequate garbage receptacles and removal, unless the lease says otherwise
Clean, sanitary, pest-free building and grounds at the start of the tenancy
Floors, walls, ceilings, stairways, and railings in good repair
Working ventilation, air conditioning, elevators, and any other appliances the landlord supplies

Tenants share the load: keep the unit clean, dispose of trash properly, and use plumbing and electrical fixtures correctly. A landlord cannot charge you a fee for performing repairs that are the landlord’s duty.

What You Can Do When Repairs Aren’t Made

When a unit falls below habitable standards, you start by delivering written notice describing each problem. If the landlord hasn’t fixed the issue or made a genuine effort within 14 days, you may:⁵

Terminate the lease immediately and recover all prepaid rent and the security deposit
Recover actual damages caused by the uninhabitable conditions
Withhold rent that comes due after the notice, without incurring late fees, until the landlord fixes the problem or makes a good-faith attempt
Ask the court for whatever relief fits the circumstances

These remedies are unavailable if you caused the problem yourself or refused to let the landlord in to make repairs.

Repair and Deduct

NRS 118A.360 offers a separate route for smaller problems. When the repair will cost less than $100 or one month’s rent (whichever is more), you can notify the landlord in writing and, if nothing happens within 14 days, hire someone to do the work and deduct the actual cost from your next rent payment.⁴ The landlord can require a specific qualified contractor, and you must submit an itemized statement of costs. Total repair-and-deduct liability for the landlord is capped at $100 or one month’s rent in any 12-month period.

Landlord Entry

Under NRS 118A.330, the landlord may enter to inspect, make repairs, supply agreed services, or show the unit to prospective buyers or tenants. Outside of emergencies, entry requires at least 24 hours’ written notice and must occur during reasonable business hours.⁶ A genuine emergency, such as a burst pipe or fire, allows entry without notice.

The landlord cannot abuse this right or use repeated entries to harass you. Beyond the permitted purposes, entry is allowed only through a court order or after you have abandoned the unit.⁶

Lockouts and Utility Shutoffs Are Illegal

Self-help evictions are flatly prohibited. Under NRS 118A.390, a landlord cannot physically remove a tenant, block entry, or cut off essential services like water, electricity, or heat to force someone out.⁷

A tenant locked out or cut off can file a verified complaint for expedited relief. The filing deadline is tight: five judicial days from the landlord’s unlawful act. The court must hold a hearing within three judicial days after that. If the court finds a violation, it can order possession and services restored, award actual damages plus up to $2,500, and hold the landlord in contempt.⁷ Miss the five-day window and you lose expedited relief, though other remedies remain.

Notices to End a Tenancy

To end a periodic tenancy under NRS 40.251, week-to-week tenants need at least seven days’ written notice and month-to-month tenants need at least 30 days.⁸ The same notice periods apply to both sides. A tenant who stays past a properly served notice becomes an unlawful holdover.

When a tenant fails to meet obligations under Chapter 118A or violates lease terms, the landlord may serve a five-day notice to cure or vacate.⁸ Notices must be served in the manner required by NRS 40.280, which generally means personal delivery, or posting and mailing if personal service fails.⁹ Notice to the landlord can be delivered or mailed to the business address in the lease or wherever the landlord accepts rent.

Early Termination for Domestic Violence Victims

NRS 118A.345 lets a tenant or cotenant end a lease early if they, a cotenant, or a household member is a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking. Termination takes effect at the end of the current rental period or 30 days after the landlord receives written notice, whichever comes first.¹⁰

The written notice must state the reason and include supporting documentation. For domestic violence, that means a protective order, a police report, or a signed affidavit from a qualified third party such as a counselor or social worker. For harassment, sexual assault, or stalking, a police report or a temporary or extended protective order suffices.¹⁰ The incident must have occurred within 90 days before the notice. A tenant who ends the lease this way owes rent only through the termination date and gets any prepaid rent beyond that back.

Retaliation Protections

NRS 118A.510 bars landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise their legal rights. A landlord cannot terminate, refuse to renew, raise rent, cut essential services, or threaten eviction because a tenant did any of the following:⁴

Reported a building, housing, or health code violation to a government agency
Complained to the landlord or law enforcement about a Chapter 118A violation
Joined or organized a tenants’ union
Filed or defended a legal action involving habitability
Complained about a fair housing violation
Is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, or stalking

A tenant hit with retaliation gets the remedies under NRS 118A.390, including actual damages and up to $2,500, plus a defense against any eviction the landlord files.⁴ The statute recognizes some safe harbors: retaliation isn’t established if the code violation was primarily caused by the tenant’s own negligence, if the tenancy is being ended with cause, if the unit must be vacated for remodeling or demolition to come into compliance, or if a rent increase applies uniformly across the building.

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.180 – Applicability
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.200 – Rental Agreements: Signing; Copies; Required Provisions; Disputable Presumptions; Use of Nonconforming Agreement Unlawful
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.242 – Security Deposit: Limitation on Amount or Value; Surety Bond in Lieu of Security Deposit; Duties and Liability of Landlord; Damages; Disputing Itemized Accounting of Security Deposit; Prohibited Provisions
4
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings
5
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.355 – Failure of Landlord to Maintain Dwelling Unit in Habitable Condition
6
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.330 – Landlords Access to Dwelling Unit
7
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.390 – Unlawful Removal or Exclusion of Tenant or Willful Interruption of Essential Items or Services; Procedure for Expedited Relief
8
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40.251 – Unlawful Detainer
9
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.190 – Notice: Definition; Service
10
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A.345 – Right of Tenant or Cotenant to Terminate Lease Due to Domestic Violence, Harassment, Sexual Assault or Stalking