Outline of the eviction process in Nevada

Nevada gives residential landlords two different routes to possession, both in NRS Chapter 40 and both normally filed in the justice court of the township where the property sits. The summary eviction (NRS 40.253 for unpaid rent, NRS 40.254 for other grounds) is the one almost everyone uses, and it runs backwards compared with other states: the notice itself tells the tenant to file an affidavit with the court, and the landlord files a complaint only after the notice period ends. The formal unlawful detainer (NRS 40.290 to 40.420) is an ordinary lawsuit with a complaint, summons, trial and writ of restitution, and it is the only route that produces a money judgment.

Two things trip up out-of-state owners. First, key notice periods run in judicial days, and the rent notice is seven of them. Second, a landlord cannot serve an eviction notice personally. A 2025 bill to restructure summary eviction (AB 283) was vetoed, so the tenant-files-first procedure is still the law.

1. Grounds

Nevada statutes do not require just cause. A landlord may end a periodic tenancy with a no-cause notice (NRS 40.251), and a tenant who stays past the end of a fixed term is in unlawful detainer (NRS 40.250). The for-cause grounds are default in rent (NRS 40.2512); assignment or subletting contrary to the lease, waste, unlawful business, nuisance, or a controlled-substances violation on the premises other than simple possession under NRS 453.336 (NRS 40.2514); and failure to perform another lease condition (NRS 40.2516).

Retaliation is a defense to possession. NRS 118A.510 bars a landlord from terminating or refusing to renew a tenancy, raising rent, or cutting services because the tenant complained in good faith about code violations, organized or joined a tenant group, or exercised other listed rights. A rent increase requires written notice 60 days in advance, or 30 days for a tenancy of less than one month (NRS 118A.300).

2. Notices

• Nonpayment: seven judicial days (NRS 40.2512, 40.253). The notice demands, in the alternative, payment of the rent or surrender of the premises before the close of business of the court on the seventh judicial day after the day of service. For summary eviction it must identify the court with jurisdiction and tell the tenant of the right to file an affidavit with that court within the same period and of the other matters listed in NRS 40.253(3). As an option, where rent is reserved by the week or less and the tenancy has lasted no more than 45 days, NRS 40.253(1)(b) allows a notice expiring at noon of the fourth full day after service.
• Late fees. A late fee cannot exceed 5 percent of the periodic rent and, in a tenancy longer than week to week, cannot be charged until at least 3 calendar days after rent is due (NRS 118A.210(4)). After serving a rent notice, a landlord may not refuse the rent because the tenant has not also paid collection fees, attorney’s fees or other costs; the statute carves out only rent, a reasonable late or dishonored-check charge, and a security deposit (NRS 40.253(11)).
• Lease violation: five days, with a right to cure (NRS 40.2516). Within 5 days after service the tenant may perform and save the lease.
• Nuisance, waste, unlawful business, improper subletting, drug violations: three days, no cure (NRS 40.2514).
• No cause: 30 days, or 7 days for a week-to-week tenancy (NRS 40.251). The notice must include a statement that a tenant who is 60 or older or has a physical or mental disability (and does not pay weekly) may request an additional 30 days by writing to the landlord with proof (NRS 40.251(2), (5)).
• The second notice for everything except rent. Summary eviction under NRS 40.254 requires a written notice to surrender that names the court and tells the tenant of the right to file an affidavit before the court’s close of business on the fifth judicial day after service, or to ask for a stay of up to 10 days. In practice this is a separate “Five-Day Notice to Quit for Unlawful Detainer” served after the 3-day, 5-day or 30-day notice has expired.
• Federally backed or subsidized properties may also owe the federal CARES Act 30-day notice for nonpayment; the Las Vegas Justice Court publishes a separate 30-day nonpayment form for those cases.

How days are counted. The rent notice (7) and the NRS 40.254 notice (5) are expressly judicial days. The court self-help center explains that judicial days do not include the date of service, weekends or legal holidays. The 3-day and 5-day periods in NRS 40.2514 and 40.2516 say only “days,” but Rule 6(a) of the Justice Court Rules of Civil Procedure counts any period of 10 days or less in judicial days in every justice court, so the short periods are judicial days statewide. The Las Vegas Justice Court’s Civil Division is also closed on Fridays and holidays, and the self-help center’s worked example skips Fridays there; confirm your own township’s open days before counting. The 30-day and 7-day no-cause periods are ordinary days.

Who may serve and how (NRS 40.280). The notices must be served by the sheriff, a constable, a process server licensed under NRS Chapter 648, or the agent of a Nevada-licensed attorney who has been retained for the eviction and supervises the agent. The landlord or manager cannot serve the notice personally. Service is by: (a) personal delivery to the tenant; (b) if the tenant is absent, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the residence or place of business and mailing a copy; or (c) if no such person can be found, posting a copy in a conspicuous place on the property, delivering a copy to a person residing there if one can be found, and mailing a copy. Posting alone is not service. Proof of service must be filed before the court will issue a removal order or writ (NRS 40.280(4)).

3. Filing

Summary eviction. When the notice expires without compliance, the landlord or the landlord’s agent files an affidavit of complaint in the justice court of the township (NRS 40.253(5)). NRS 40.253(5) and 40.254(2) list what it must state; attach the notice, proof of service and any written rental agreement. The Las Vegas Justice Court’s fee schedule lists the summary eviction filing fee as $71; other townships set their own fees, so confirm with your court. Las Vegas Justice Court requires e-filing, requires its own approved notice forms, will not accept the complaint until the tenant’s time to file has run, and treats the notice as expired if the complaint is not filed within 30 days after the notice expires.

No money in a summary case. A summary eviction decides possession only. To recover rent or damages you must file a separate case or use the formal process.

Formal unlawful detainer. File a written complaint describing the premises and the facts, and stating the rent due if the case is for nonpayment (NRS 40.300(1)). Summary eviction is not available against a tenant who rents a lot in a mobile home park (NRS 40.253(12)); those cases go the formal route, as does any case the summary judge refers on.

4. The tenant’s affidavit, service and the hearing

Summary. If the tenant files no affidavit, the court may issue the removal order on the landlord’s complaint without a hearing. If the tenant files an affidavit, then once the landlord files the complaint the court must hold a hearing, “regardless of the information contained in the affidavit” (NRS 40.253(6)). At the hearing the judge decides only whether there is a legal defense. If there is none, the court may issue a summary order for removal. If there is a legal defense, the court must deny relief and any further proceedings go under the formal process. In Las Vegas Justice Court, eligible nonpayment tenants may be referred to the court’s Eviction Diversion Program, which connects tenants and landlords with rental assistance, a legal aid lawyer and county social services. From February 2, 2026 Clark County extended it to tenants 62 or older or on SSI for a disability in the Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas Justice Courts. Expect a referral to add time.

Formal. The summons is issued and served as in other civil cases, but the judge may shorten the time to appear (NRS 40.300(2)).

5. Judgment and appeal

• Summary order. The tenant may ask the justice court to stay the order for up to 10 days (NRS 70.010(2)). Either party may appeal by filing a notice of appeal within 10 judicial days after entry of the order. A residential tenant may obtain a stay of execution by filing a $250 bond, and a tenant who stays in possession during the appeal must pay rent as it comes due; if the tenant does not, the landlord may start a new summary eviction with a new notice (NRS 40.385).
• Formal judgment. Judgment is for restitution of the premises and, in rent and lease-breach cases, forfeiture of the lease, plus rent due and three times the damages assessed for the unlawful detainer and any waste (NRS 40.360). In a nonpayment case where the lease has not expired, execution cannot issue for 5 days after judgment, and the tenant may pay the judgment and costs into court in that time and be restored to the tenancy (NRS 40.360(3)). Either party may appeal within 10 days; the appeal stays the judgment only if the tenant files an undertaking with two or more sureties of at least twice the judgment and costs (NRS 40.380).
• Sealing. A summary eviction file is sealed automatically when the case is dismissed, 10 judicial days after an order denying the eviction, or 31 days after the tenant’s affidavit if the landlord has not filed a complaint within 30 days. The court may also seal on a written stipulation of landlord and tenant to set aside the eviction order, or on the tenant’s motion (NRS 40.2545).

6. The removal order, the lockout and tenant property

A summary removal order directs the sheriff or constable to post it on the premises within 24 hours after receiving it, and to remove the tenant not earlier than 24 hours and not later than 36 hours after posting (NRS 40.253(5)). A formal case ends in a writ of restitution, also executed by the sheriff or constable (NRS 40.420).

Property left behind (NRS 118A.460). The landlord must reasonably provide safe storage for 30 days after the eviction or abandonment, and may charge the reasonable and actual costs of inventory, moving and storage before releasing it. After 30 days the landlord may dispose of the property only after notifying the tenant in writing of the intent to do so and waiting 14 days. During the first 5 days the landlord must give the former tenant a reasonable opportunity to retrieve essential personal effects (NRS 118A.460(3)), and a tenant who is refused may get a hearing within 5 days and damages of up to $2,500 (NRS 40.253(9)).

Self-help. A landlord may recover possession only through a court action, surrender or abandonment (NRS 118A.480). For a lockout or a willful interruption of essential services the tenant may recover actual damages, up to $2,500 fixed by the court, or both (NRS 118A.390).

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Summary eviction reform vetoed (June 2025). AB 283, which would have made the landlord file first, passed the Legislature and was vetoed on June 5, 2025. AB 201 (sealing of records), AB 223 (habitability) and AB 280 (housing) were vetoed on June 2, 2025. The Legislature did not hold a regular session in 2026.
• Rental fee transparency: AB 121 (2025 Statutes ch. 227), effective October 1, 2025. Landlords must offer at least one way to pay rent that carries no fee, may not charge more for portal payments than the portal operator charges, must state rent as a single figure that includes mandatory fees, and must refund an application fee if the unit goes to someone else and the screening was never performed; on request, a landlord must give a prospective tenant a copy of the written rental agreement (NRS 118A.235). A tenant may bring a civil action over violations of the rental agreement disclosure rules in NRS 118A.200, with statutory damages of $250 for each violation involving deception (NRS 118A.405).

What actually goes wrong

• The landlord or manager serves the notice.
• Counting calendar days on the seven-day or five-day notice, or filing before the tenant’s time to file an affidavit has run.
• Skipping the second notice in a no-cause, lease-violation or nuisance case.
• Leaving the 60-and-over and disability statement off a no-cause notice.
• Refusing the rent because collection or attorney’s fees are unpaid, or charging late fees above the 5 percent cap.
• Expecting a money judgment from a summary case.
• Letting the notice go stale in Las Vegas by filing more than 30 days after it expired. You start over with a new notice.

When to bring in an attorney

An individual landlord with a clean rent notice can usually handle an uncontested summary eviction using the court’s forms. Bring in counsel when the tenant files an affidavit raising habitability, retaliation or discrimination, when the judge finds a legal defense and sends the case to the formal process, when you want rent and damages in the same case, for subsidized housing, for mobile home park lots (NRS Chapter 118B has its own rules), and if your ownership entity’s right to appear without a lawyer is unclear in your court. The Nevada attorneys listed below represent landlords.

Sources

• NRS Chapter 40: 40.250, 40.251, 40.2512, 40.2514, 40.2516, 40.253, 40.254, 40.2545, 40.280, 40.300, 40.360, 40.380, 40.385 and 40.420; NRS 70.010.
• NRS Chapter 118A: 118A.210, 118A.300, 118A.390, 118A.460, 118A.480 and 118A.510.
• Assembly Bill 121 (2025), Statutes of Nevada 2025, chapter 227; Nevada Legislature list of vetoed bills, 83rd Session (AB 201, AB 223, AB 280, AB 283).
• Civil Law Self-Help Center (Clark County courts): eviction notice types, choosing the summary or formal process, filing a summary eviction.
• Las Vegas Justice Court eviction forms page and approved notice forms (rev. January 9, 2026); Clark County announcement on the Eviction Diversion Program expansion (January 28, 2026).

This guide is general information about Nevada procedure and is not legal advice. Justice courts differ in their forms, fees and calendars. Confirm the current statute text and your court’s requirements before relying on any deadline.