Nevada security deposit law

The security deposit, any surety bond and any last month's rent you collect may not add up to more than three months' periodic rent. A security deposit is any payment, fee or charge that is to be used to cover unpaid rent, repair damage beyond normal wear, or clean the unit, whatever it is called.

NRS 118A.242(1) NRS 118A.240

• Periodic rent is the monthly amount for a fixed-term or month-to-month tenancy, the weekly amount for a week-to-week tenancy, and one twelfth of the yearly amount for a tenancy paid annually. NRS 118A.125
• With your consent, a tenant may buy a surety bond instead of paying all or part of the deposit. You do not have to accept a bond, and you may not require one. NRS 118A.242(2), (3)
• A payment to secure an option to buy the property, and a premium paid to a surety company for a bond, are not security deposits. NRS 118A.240(2)
• No lease may call a deposit nonrefundable or waive the tenant's deposit rights. The one exception is a reasonable nonrefundable cleaning charge; any other such term is void. NRS 118A.242(8)
• If a tenant with a disability asks to make reasonable modifications at the tenant's own cost, you may not raise the usual deposit because of the request. You may take an extra deposit only if it is needed to restore the unit, does not exceed the actual restoration cost, and is kept in an interest-bearing account with the interest paid to the tenant. NRS 118.101(3), (4)

No later than 30 days after the tenancy ends, for any reason, give the tenant an itemized written accounting of the deposit and return whatever remains, either by handing it to the tenant at the place where rent is paid or by mailing it to the tenant's present address (or last known address, if the present one is unknown). You may keep only what is reasonably needed to cover unpaid rent, repair damage the tenant caused beyond normal wear, and pay the reasonable cost of cleaning.

NRS 118A.242(4)

• If you fail or refuse to return the remainder within 30 days after the tenancy ends, you owe the tenant the entire deposit plus an added sum the court sets of up to the entire deposit. The court weighs whether you acted in good faith, the course of dealing between you, and the harm to the tenant. NRS 118A.242(6), (7)
• Normal wear is deterioration that happens without negligence, carelessness or abuse by the tenant, a household member or a guest. NRS 118A.110
• When a surety bond was used, a tenant who disputes an item may send a written dispute to the surety. If it is sent within 30 days after the tenant received the accounting, the surety may not report your claim to a credit reporting agency unless it wins a judgment against the tenant. NRS 118A.242(5)
• The tenant's claim to the deposit comes ahead of the claims of your creditors. NRS 118A.242(9)
• When the tenant asks, give a signed written receipt for the deposit, any surety bond and any other payment, including rent. The tenant may hold back rent until you offer the receipt. NRS 118A.250
• When your interest in the unit ends by sale or otherwise, within a reasonable time either tell the tenant in writing the successor's name, address and telephone number and that the remaining deposit was transferred, or return it to the tenant. Before recording a deed, transfer the deposits to the buyer in writing or tell the buyer in writing that they were returned. The successor must accept the existing deposit and may not demand a new one during the lease term. NRS 118A.244
• A tenant who ends the lease under the domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking section may not have the deposit withheld for the early termination. NRS 118A.345(5) See Ending a fixed-term lease early on the Nevada page

Nevada's landlord and tenant chapter does not require you to hold deposits in a separate account or to pay interest on them. The one interest rule found in the laws read for this page covers an extra deposit taken because a tenant with a disability will modify the unit: it must be kept in an interest-bearing account, with the interest paid to the tenant. Trust account rules for licensed property managers were not read for this page.

NRS chapter 118A NRS 118.101(4)

• The tenant's claim to the deposit comes ahead of the claims of your creditors. NRS 118A.242(9)

Every written lease must contain a signed record of the inventory and condition of the parts of the premises under the tenant's exclusive custody and control. Using a written lease that leaves out a required subject is unlawful.

NRS 118A.200(3)(k) NRS 118A.200(9)

• Without a written lease, the law presumes, until shown otherwise, that apart from normal wear the tenant will return the premises in the same condition as when the tenancy began. NRS 118A.200(5)(d)
• You must deliver possession at the start of the term in a habitable condition. NRS 118A.280 See Repairs and habitability on the Nevada page