Omaha Landlord-Tenant Rules

Rental registration & inspection: Every rental property in Omaha, including the city's three-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction, must be registered with the Planning Department's Permits and Inspections Division. It is unlawful to offer, lease or keep leasing an unregistered rental dwelling. Registration lasts until the property is transferred. Properties with a history of unremedied code violations, or that registered late, get priority inspections. All other rentals go on a ten-year list, with one inspection per ten-year cycle starting in 2022. All units in single-family homes and duplexes are inspected. In multi-family buildings the city may inspect a sample of at least 15% of units, and inspects every unit if more than 20% of the sample fail. Owner and tenant get at least 14 days' written notice of an inspection. The fee is $125 per inspection per unit, plus $125 for a missed inspection not rescheduled within 7 days. Knowingly failing to comply with the code or a violation notice for at least 90 days is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to six months in jail.; Public housing right to counsel (state law, Omaha only): Residents of a public housing agency (such as the Omaha Housing Authority) in a city of the metropolitan class, which is Omaha, are entitled to a court-appointed lawyer at no cost. This applies before an agency termination hearing the resident requests, or in the court eviction case if no hearing is held. Termination notices must tell residents of this right. The housing agency pays the lawyer's fees and cannot charge or recover them from the resident. The resident may waive appointed counsel or hire their own. A legislative research report says this has applied since July 2025.; Eviction legal help (Tenant Assistance Project): The Tenant Assistance Project, run mainly through the Nebraska State Bar Association's Volunteer Lawyers Project, gives free legal representation in Douglas County eviction cases to renters at or below 80% of area median income. More than 1,800 Douglas County households were helped in 2023, and only 2% of those cases ended in immediate eviction.; State preemption: Since 2025, no Nebraska city, county or local agency may enact or enforce an ordinance that would impose rent control on private property, even under a home rule charter. Such ordinances are null and void. Exceptions cover land-use or inclusionary rules that increase affordable housing, and voluntary contractual rent-restriction programs.