Nevada does not collect “tenants’ rights” in a single bill of rights. For most dwelling rentals, the rights people mean are the duties and remedies in the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, NRS Chapter 118A, plus the housing-discrimination rules in NRS Chapter 118. Chapter 118A also lists tenant obligations (NRS 118A.310). The chapter applies only to the rentals NRS 118A.180 covers; hotel stays under 30 days, many institutional residences, and forcible-entry occupants are among the exclusions.

What Chapter 118A requires of the landlord

A short list of the load-bearing tenant-facing rules:

  • A habitable dwelling. NRS 118A.280 and 118A.290 require delivery and ongoing maintenance in a habitable condition, defined by housing and health codes and a list of essential systems. Details and the 14-day notice remedies are in landlord repair obligations.
  • A capped, refundable deposit. NRS 118A.242 caps the deposit or deposit-plus-bond (including last month’s rent) at three months’ periodic rent and requires an itemized accounting and return of any remainder within 30 days. See Nevada security deposit law.
  • Notice before entry. Except in an emergency, NRS 118A.330 requires at least 24 hours’ notice and entry only at reasonable times during normal business hours unless the tenant expressly consents otherwise. See landlord entry notice.
  • Notice before a rent increase. NRS 118A.300 requires 60 days’ written notice, or 30 days for a periodic tenancy of less than one month. See rent-increase notice rules.
  • No self-help lockout. NRS 118A.480 forbids recovering possession by action or otherwise — including interrupting essential services — except by a possession proceeding, surrender, or abandonment. NRS 118A.390 supplies an expedited-relief path when that rule is broken. See wrongful eviction.
  • A written lease that conforms. NRS 118A.200 lists required subjects; NRS 118A.220 voids listed waivers and one-sided attorney-fee clauses. See what a Nevada lease must contain.
  • Receipts on request. NRS 118A.250 requires a signed written receipt for the deposit and other payments, including rent, when the tenant asks; the tenant may refuse rent payments until that receipt is tendered.
  • No landlord’s lien on household goods. NRS 118A.520 makes a landlord’s lien or security interest in household goods unenforceable unless created by attachment or garnishment, and abolishes distraint for rent.

What NRS 118A.510 says about retaliation

NRS 118A.510(1) provides that, except as subsection 3 states, the landlord may not, in retaliation, terminate a tenancy, refuse to renew, increase rent, decrease essential items or services, or bring or threaten an action for possession if the tenant (among other listed acts):

  • complained in good faith of a building, housing, or health-code violation affecting health or safety to the agency that enforces that code;
  • complained in good faith to the landlord or a law-enforcement agency of a Chapter 118A violation or of a specific statute that imposes a criminal penalty;
  • organized or joined a tenants’ union or similar organization;
  • instituted or defended a proceeding in which the tenant raised habitability compliance;
  • complained in good faith of a violation of NRS 118.010 to 118.120 or the federal Fair Housing Act, or otherwise exercised rights under those laws;
  • is a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking, or terminated under NRS 118A.345; or
  • is a federal, tribal, or state worker (or household member) who pays rent in the shutdown window described in NRS 118A.310(2).

If the landlord violates subsection 1, NRS 118A.510(2) says the tenant is entitled to the remedies in NRS 118A.390 and “has a defense in any retaliatory action by the landlord for possession.” Subsection 3 lists circumstances that do not violate subsection 1, including a termination with cause, a uniform rent increase applied to all tenants, and a code violation caused primarily by the tenant’s lack of reasonable care.

NRS 118A.515 separately provides that a landlord shall not take adverse action against a tenant based solely on the tenant or another person in the dwelling requesting emergency assistance when there was a reasonable belief that an emergency response was necessary or that criminal activity may have occurred. A request made that way may not be deemed a nuisance by a local government.

What NRS 118 says about housing discrimination

NRS 118.020 declares it the public policy of Nevada that all people in the state have equal opportunity to inherit, purchase, lease, rent, sell, hold, and convey real property without discrimination, distinction, or restriction because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, familial status, or sex.

NRS 118.100 then forbids a person, because of those characteristics, to refuse to sell or rent or to refuse to negotiate; to discriminate in terms, conditions, privileges, deposits, or services; to publish a discriminatory housing notice or advertisement; to represent that a dwelling is not available when it is; to induce a sale or rental for profit by representations about who is entering the neighborhood; or to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with a person in the exercise of Chapter 118 rights.

NRS 118.110 provides that an aggrieved person may file a complaint with the Commission in the manner prescribed in NRS 233.160. NRS 118.120 authorizes a district-court action to enforce NRS 118.100 and related sections, with injunction, other appropriate action, and — for a prevailing plaintiff — actual damages, punitive damages, costs, and a reasonable attorney’s fee.

Tenant obligations in the same chapter

NRS 118A.310 states basic tenant obligations: comply with the rental agreement; keep the occupied part as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permits; dispose of waste; keep plumbing fixtures as clean as their condition permits; use systems and appliances reasonably; not deliberately or negligently render the premises uninhabitable or damage them; and conduct themselves, and require guests to conduct themselves, so as not to disturb a neighbor’s peaceful enjoyment. Those duties are the other half of the same statute that creates landlord obligations.

The cluster index is Nevada Landlord-Tenant Law. Eviction procedure is summarized in How does eviction work in Nevada? and walked through at /courts/eviction-process/.