Rights and obligations, both directions
Nevada’s residential landlord-tenant relationship is governed by NRS 118A.180, which also lists eleven categories of occupancy the chapter does not cover — among them hotel stays under 30 days, employee housing, and certain condominium arrangements. Before applying anything below, confirm the tenancy is actually within the chapter.
The obligations most often argued about in our portfolio are these three:
Entry and notice (NRS 118A.330)
A landlord’s right to enter is not unlimited, and the statute sets the conditions. In practice Innova schedules every non-emergency visit in writing through the resident portal, which gives both sides a timestamped record. Emergencies are the recognised exception; we document them the same day.
Rent increases (NRS 118A.300)
Advance notice of an increase is governed by its own section. Note this is a different provision from the notice used to end a periodic tenancy, which lives in NRS 40.251 — the two are routinely confused. We calendar increase notices from the statutory period, never from the renewal date.
Lockouts and utility shutoffs (NRS 118A.390)
Removing a tenant, or interrupting essential services to force one out, is addressed directly by statute and carries an expedited remedy for the tenant. There is no version of this that saves money. Every removal Innova handles runs through the court process in the eviction guide.
What we tell owners. Most disputes we inherit from self-managing owners are not really disputes about the law — they are disputes about what was said, when. Written records of entry, notice, and repair requests resolve the large majority before anyone reaches for a statute.
Habitability: what has to work
The landlord’s duty to maintain the unit is set out in NRS 118A.290, and the same section addresses charging tenants for work that is the landlord’s responsibility. The tenant’s remedy when that duty is not met is separate, at NRS 118A.355.
We do not attempt to summarise the statutory list here — read the section. Operationally, Innova treats the following as habitability calls rather than routine maintenance, meaning they are dispatched immediately rather than batched:
- No heat, or no cooling during a Las Vegas summer
- No running or hot water
- Sewage backup, or a non-functioning toilet in a one-bathroom home
- Anything that makes the unit insecure — a door or window lock that does not close
- Confirmed gas or electrical fault
Everything else runs through the normal maintenance queue with vendor dispatch inside one business day. The distinction matters because a habitability item that sits is the one that turns into a tenant remedy under NRS 118A.355.
When a guest becomes a tenant
This is the most common question we get from owners with a long-term visitor in the property, and the honest answer is that Nevada does not give you a day count to rely on.
What the statute does give you is a definition. NRS 118A.170 defines a tenant as a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others, and NRS 118A.080 defines the dwelling unit itself. The question is therefore about entitlement to occupy, not about how many nights someone has stayed.
Because the line is a legal one rather than an arithmetic one, Innova handles it at the lease: our agreements set a guest-stay limit and a written approval route for anything beyond it, so the situation is governed by the contract before it ever becomes a statutory argument. If you have inherited a property where that conversation did not happen, this is a point to take to counsel rather than to resolve by notice.
Why we will not give you a number. Plenty of sites will tell you a guest becomes a tenant at 14 or 30 days in Nevada. We have not been able to source that to the statute, so we do not publish it.
This guide is general educational information, not legal advice. For your specific situation consult a licensed Nevada attorney. Innova Realty & Management is a Nevada-licensed real estate broker (#B.143949), not a law firm.