NRS 118A.290 is Nevada’s habitability statute. The landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition. A unit is not habitable if it violates housing or health codes concerning health, safety, sanitation, or fitness for habitation, or if it substantially lacks the systems the section lists. NRS 118A.355, 118A.360, and 118A.380 then describe what the chapter says happens if that duty is not met. Those sections are remedy statutes, not a how-to for any particular unit.

What NRS 118A.290 lists as habitability

NRS 118A.280 requires delivery of possession at the start of the term in a habitable condition. NRS 118A.290(1) then requires ongoing maintenance. Substantial lack of any of the following makes the unit not habitable:

  • effective waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and exterior walls, including windows and doors;
  • plumbing facilities that conformed to applicable law when installed and are maintained in good working order;
  • an approved water supply under the tenant’s or landlord’s control, capable of producing hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate fixtures, and connected to an approved sewage system maintained in good working order to the extent the landlord can control it;
  • adequate heating facilities that conformed to applicable law when installed and are maintained in good working order;
  • electrical lighting, outlets, wiring, and equipment that conformed to applicable law when installed and are maintained in good working order;
  • an adequate number of appropriate garbage and rubbish receptacles in clean condition and good repair at the start of the tenancy, with the landlord arranging removal unless a written agreement provides otherwise;
  • building, grounds, and other areas under the landlord’s control, at commencement, clean, sanitary, and reasonably free of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, insects, and vermin;
  • floors, walls, ceilings, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair; and
  • ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, maintained in good repair if supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord.

NRS 118A.290(4) provides that, except as subsection 5 states, the landlord shall not require the tenant to pay a fee for repairs or other work the landlord has a duty to perform, including a fee to cover an insurance deductible or service-contract copayment. Subsection 5 allows a charge for work made necessary by the tenant’s (or a household member’s or invited person’s) deliberate or negligent act or omission.

The landlord and tenant may agree that the tenant will perform specified repairs only if the agreement is in good faith and does not diminish the landlord’s obligations to other tenants (NRS 118A.290(2)–(3)). An agreement is not in good faith if the landlord already had a subsection 1 duty and the tenant entered the agreement because the landlord refused to perform it.

The 14-day habitability path (NRS 118A.355)

NRS 118A.355(1) requires the tenant to deliver a written notice specifying each habitability failure and requesting that the landlord remedy it. If a remediable failure is adequately remedied, or the landlord uses best efforts, within 14 days after receipt, the tenant may not proceed under the section. If the landlord fails to remedy a material failure or to make a reasonable effort within that time, the tenant may:

  • terminate the rental agreement immediately;
  • recover actual damages;
  • apply to the court for such relief as the court deems proper; and
  • withhold rent that becomes due, without late fees or notice charges, until the landlord has remedied or attempted in good faith to remedy the failure.

NRS 118A.355(2) bars those steps when the condition was caused by the tenant (or a household member or invited person), or when the landlord could not remedy within 14 days because the tenant refused lawful access. NRS 118A.355(5) is the eviction-defense limit: justice courts shall establish by local rule a mechanism for tenants to deposit withheld rent into a court-maintained or court-approved escrow, and a tenant does not have a defense to an eviction under the withholding paragraph unless that deposit has been made.

NRS 118A.350 is the sibling statute for a landlord’s failure to comply with the rental agreement, using the same 14-day written-notice structure without the withholding/escrow paragraphs.

Repair and deduct (NRS 118A.360)

If the landlord fails to comply with the rental agreement or the habitability duty, and the reasonable cost of compliance or repair is less than $100 or an amount equal to one month’s periodic rent, whichever is greater, NRS 118A.360 allows the tenant to recover damages or to notify the landlord of an intention to correct the condition at the landlord’s expense. If the landlord fails to use best efforts to comply within 14 days after written notice — or more promptly in an emergency — the tenant may have the work done in a workmanlike manner and, after submitting an itemized statement, deduct the actual and reasonable cost or fair value, not exceeding that dollar cap. The landlord’s liability under the section is limited to that same cap within any 12-month period. The tenant may not use this section if the tenant caused the condition, and the landlord may specify a qualified person or firm to do the work.

Essential services (NRS 118A.380)

If the landlord is required by the agreement or the chapter to supply heat, air-conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a functioning door lock, or another essential item or service, and willfully or negligently fails to do so, causing the premises to become unfit for habitation, NRS 118A.380 requires written notice. If the landlord does not adequately remedy the breach or use best efforts within 48 hours, except a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, after receipt, the tenant may (in addition to any other remedy) procure reasonable amounts of those items and deduct the actual and reasonable cost; recover actual damages including lack of use or diminished rental value; withhold rent during the noncompliance without late fees; or procure comparable housing, with the original rent fully abating and the tenant recovering the reasonable excess cost. Withholding rights under paragraph (c) do not arise unless the tenant is current in rent at the time of the written notice. If the tenant proceeds under this section, the tenant may not also proceed under NRS 118A.350 and 118A.360 as to that breach.

A willful interruption of essential services used to force a tenant out is also the subject of NRS 118A.390, covered in wrongful eviction in Nevada. Termination after an uncured habitability failure is one of the grounds on breaking a lease in Nevada.