Can I Sue My Landlord in Nevada?
Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims Nevada tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.
Before you sue
- Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
- Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
- Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
- If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.
Your security deposit wasn't returned
| Penalty for withholding | If the landlord fails or refuses to return the remainder within 30 days, the landlord is liable for (a) an amount equal to the entire deposit, plus (b) a court-fixed sum of up to the entire deposit. For the extra sum, the court considers whether the landlord acted in good faith, the course of conduct between the parties, and the degree of harm to the tenant. Source: NRS 118A.242(6)-(7) |
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| Deposit return deadline | 30 days after termination of the tenancy. Returned by handing it to the tenant at the place rent is paid, or by mail to the tenant's present address (or last known address if unknown). Source: NRS 118A.242(4) |
Free Nevada security deposit demand letter
You were locked out or your utilities were cut off
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Prohibited. If a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant, or willfully interrupts (or causes/permits interruption of) any essential item or service, the tenant may recover immediate possession, actual damages, and/or an amount up to $2,500 fixed by the court. In setting the amount the court considers good faith, course of conduct, and degree of harm. Last amended 2021 per history note. Source: NRS 118A.390 |
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Your landlord retaliated after you complained
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not terminate/refuse to renew, raise rent, decrease essential services, or bring or threaten a possession action because the tenant in good faith complained of building/housing/health code violations, complained to the landlord or law enforcement of a violation of Ch. 118A or a criminal statute, organized or joined a tenants' union, instituted or defended a habitability proceeding, filed a fair housing complaint, or is a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking (among other listed acts). Tenant gets NRS 118A.390 remedies and a defense to a retaliatory possession action. No presumption period is stated in NRS 118A.510. Exceptions include violations caused by the tenant's lack of reasonable care, termination for cause, and rent increases applied uniformly. Source: NRS 118A.510 |
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Your landlord won't make repairs
| Repair and deduct | Allowed for minor defects: if the reasonable repair cost is less than $100 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, the tenant may give written notice; if the landlord does not use best efforts to comply within 14 days, the tenant may repair and deduct. Limited to $100 or one month's rent (whichever is greater) in any 12-month period. For failure to supply essential services, the tenant may procure them and deduct actual and reasonable cost after written notice and 48 hours (excluding weekends/holidays). A tenant who proceeds under 118A.380 may not also proceed under 118A.350/118A.360 for the same breach. Source: NRS 118A.360; NRS 118A.380(1)(a) |
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| Withholding rent | Allowed. For habitability failures not remedied within 14 days of written notice, the tenant may withhold rent without late fees until the landlord remedies or attempts in good faith to remedy (justice courts must provide an escrow mechanism). For failure to supply essential services not remedied within 48 hours (excluding weekends/holidays) of written notice, the tenant may withhold rent that comes due during the noncompliance. Under 118A.380(3)(b), withholding without the tenant's own written notice is allowed only if a government inspection agency gave the landlord written notice and the landlord failed to remedy within that agency's deadline. |
| Mold | No statute — general habitability duty applies. The landlord must maintain the unit in a habitable condition at all times; a unit is not habitable if it violates housing or health codes on health, safety, sanitation, or fitness, or substantially lacks effective waterproofing and weather protection, working plumbing, or walls, floors, and ceilings in good repair. Nevada has no mold disclosure or remediation standard for rentals. Tenant remedies for habitability failures include written notice and the remedies in NRS 118A.350 to 118A.360. Source: NRS 118A.290(1) |
| Pests & bed bugs | At the start of the tenancy, the building, grounds, and other areas under the landlord's control must be clean, sanitary, and reasonably free of rodents, insects, and vermin. The tenant must keep the unit clean and safe and dispose of garbage properly. No bed-bug-specific statute. The landlord may not charge the tenant for repairs the landlord must perform under NRS 118A.290, except for conditions caused by the tenant's own deliberate or negligent act (NRS 118A.290(4)-(5)). No state bed-bug disclosure or inspection rule. Source: NRS 118A.290(1)(g); NRS 118A.310 |
| Heat | Yes. A unit is not habitable if it substantially lacks adequate heating facilities that conformed to law when installed and are maintained in good working order. No statewide minimum temperature or heating season is set. If the landlord is required to supply heat and willfully or negligently fails to, the tenant has additional remedies, including damages of up to $2,500. Local housing codes may set minimum temperatures. Source: NRS 118A.290(1)(d); NRS 118A.380 |
Free Nevada repair request letter to landlord
Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy
| Landlord entry notice | Except in an emergency, at least 24 hours' notice of intent to enter; entry only at reasonable times during normal business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise. Source: NRS 118A.330(3) |
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| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute. It is a crime to knowingly and intentionally capture an image of another person's private area without consent where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy (gross misdemeanor; felony on repeat). Except in emergencies, the landlord must give 24 hours' notice before entry and may not use access to harass. Entry is limited to reasonable times during normal business hours unless the tenant consents otherwise. Source: NRS 200.604; NRS 118A.330 |
You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No. Nevada's fair housing statute covers race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, familial status and sex, but not source of income or housing vouchers. No source-of-income provision found in NRS 118 or 118A. Source: NRS 118.100 |
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Other claims tenants bring in Nevada
| Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out) | No Nevada statute uses the term "constructive eviction," but NRS Chapter 118A lets a tenant move out or stop paying rent in defined situations. If the landlord fails to keep the unit habitable or breaches the lease, the tenant gives written notice; if the landlord does not fix it (or make best efforts) within 14 days, the tenant may end the lease immediately. If the landlord willfully or negligently fails to supply heat, air-conditioning, water, hot water, electricity, gas, a working door lock or another essential service so that the unit becomes unfit to live in, and does not fix it within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) after written notice, the tenant may move to comparable housing while rent for the original unit fully abates, or withhold rent until the landlord tries in good faith to restore the service. A tenant who is locked out or whose essential services are willfully interrupted may end the lease and recover actual damages and up to $2,500 (NRS 118A.390), including through an expedited court complaint filed within 5 judicial days. These remedies are not available for conditions the tenant, household members or guests caused. Whether Nevada courts also apply a common-law constructive-eviction defense is not addressed in the statute. Source: NRS 118A.350, 118A.355, 118A.380 |
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| Injuries on the property | The landlord must keep the unit habitable at all times — including weatherproofing, working plumbing, heating and electrical, clean common areas free of vermin, and floors, stairways and railings in good repair. A tenant may recover actual damages for the landlord's failures. A lease cannot excuse or limit the landlord's liability, or make the tenant indemnify the landlord, for the landlord's (or its agents') own acts or omissions; such a clause is void. Chapter 118A does not itself set a rule for personal-injury lawsuits; whether a landlord is liable for a particular injury is decided by the courts under negligence law. Talk to a lawyer about any injury claim — filing deadlines apply. |
Where and when to sue
| Small claims limit | $10,000, for recovery of money only. A debt owed to one creditor may not be split into several cases to fit under the limit; any excess must be waived. Small claims rules (JCRCP 88-100): https://www.leg.state.nv.us/CourtRules/JCRCP.html Source: NRS 73.010; JCRCP 88(d) |
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| Small claims filing fee | By claim amount: $45 (up to $1,000), $65 ($1,000.01-$2,500), $85 ($2,500.01-$5,000), $125 ($5,000.01-$7,500), $175 ($7,500.01-$10,000). No fee is charged when a defendant appears in response to the small claims affidavit and order. Source: NRS 4.060(1)(b), (d) |
| Deadline to sue on a written lease | 6 years for a written lease or other written contract; 4 years for an oral (unwritten) lease. These are the general contract limitation periods. No landlord-specific period was found. Source: NRS 11.190(1)(b), (2)(c) |
How small claims court works in Nevada →
Tenant lawyers and free legal aid in Nevada · Nevada tenant rights · Suing a landlord in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.