Rental Repairs in Nevada: What the Landlord Must Fix, and How Fast

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Repairs, Deadlines and the Tenant’s Remedies

Fourteen days for most repairs, 48 hours for essential services, and nothing at all for damage the tenant caused

The short answer: a Nevada landlord must keep a rental habitable for the whole tenancy. Once the tenant gives written notice of a problem, the landlord generally has 14 days to fix it or make best efforts to. If an essential service such as heat, air conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas or a working door lock fails through the landlord’s willful or negligent failure to supply it, the clock is 48 hours, not counting weekends and legal holidays. When those deadlines pass, the tenant may, depending on the problem, end the lease, recover damages, withhold rent, or pay for the fix and deduct it within limits. None of these remedies applies to damage the tenant, their household or their guests caused.

What Is the Landlord’s Job

NRS 118A.290 requires the landlord to maintain the unit in a habitable condition at all times during the tenancy. A unit is not habitable if it breaks housing or health codes, or substantially lacks things such as weatherproofing of the roof and walls, working plumbing, hot and cold running water, adequate heating, safe electrical wiring and lighting, garbage receptacles, sound floors, walls, stairs and railings, and air conditioning and appliances kept in good repair where the landlord supplies them. The Nevada landlord-tenant law guide has the full list.

Two rules in the same section catch owners out:

• No repair fees for the landlord’s own duties. You may not charge the tenant for repairs you are required to make, including the deductible or copayment on a home warranty or service contract (NRS 118A.290(4)).
• Tenant-caused damage is different. You may charge for repairs needed because of the tenant’s own deliberate or negligent act, or that of their household or guests (NRS 118A.290(5)).

A tenant may agree to do specified repairs or maintenance only if the agreement is made in good faith, and it is not in good faith if the tenant agreed because you refused to do repairs that were your duty (NRS 118A.290(2)-(3)).

The 14-Day Clock

When a landlord fails to comply with the rental agreement or to keep the unit habitable, the tenant must first give written notice describing the problem. If the landlord remedies it, or uses best efforts to, within 14 days of receiving the notice, the tenant’s remedies do not arise. If not, the tenant may end the rental agreement immediately, recover actual damages or ask the court for relief (NRS 118A.350, NRS 118A.355).

For a material failure to keep the unit habitable, the tenant may also withhold rent, without late fees, until the landlord remedies it or attempts in good faith to. A tenant who withholds rent this way has no defense to an eviction unless the withheld rent was paid into the court’s escrow account (NRS 118A.355(1)(d), (5)). The tenant may not use this section if the delay was caused by the tenant refusing lawful access to make the repair (NRS 118A.355(2)(b)).

Without the written notice, a tenant can still recover damages if you admit in court that you knew of the condition, or if a government inspector had already notified you of it in writing.

Small Repairs the Tenant May Make and Deduct

Where the reasonable cost of the repair is less than $100 or one month’s rent, whichever is greater, a tenant may give written notice of their intention to correct it at the landlord’s expense. If the landlord does not use best efforts to comply within 14 days, or sooner in an emergency, the tenant may have the work done in a workmanlike manner, give the landlord an itemised statement and deduct the cost from the rent, up to that limit, and no more than that limit in any 12-month period (NRS 118A.360). The rental agreement may name the person or firm who must do such work.

Essential Services: 48 Hours

If the rental agreement or the law requires the landlord to supply heat, air conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a functioning door lock or another essential item, and the landlord willfully or negligently fails to, making the home unfit to live in, the tenant gives written notice. If the landlord does not remedy it or use best efforts to within 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, the tenant may (NRS 118A.380):

• buy reasonable amounts of the item or service and deduct the cost from the rent;
• recover actual damages, including for the loss of use of the home;
• withhold rent that comes due while it lasts, without late fees, if the tenant was current on rent when the notice was given; or
• move into comparable housing, with the rent for your home fully abated meanwhile, and recover the extra cost.

In Las Vegas this is mostly about air conditioning in summer. Where you supply it, the 48-hour rule is the one that decides how your July goes.

Never Shut Things Off to Make a Point

A landlord who willfully interrupts an essential service, or removes or locks out a tenant unlawfully, can owe actual damages plus up to $2,500 fixed by the court. The tenant can file for expedited relief within 5 judicial days, and the court must hear it within 3 judicial days (NRS 118A.390).

Repair Complaints and Retaliation

You may not raise the rent, cut services, refuse to renew or end the tenancy in retaliation for a tenant’s good-faith complaint to you or to a code enforcement agency, or for raising habitability in a court case (NRS 118A.510). The rule does not apply where the tenant’s own lack of care caused the code violation, or where a rent increase applies uniformly to all tenants. See ending a tenancy in Nevada.

When the Tenant Is the One Who Has Not Done Their Part

The rules run both ways. If a tenant’s failure to meet their obligations can be fixed by repair, replacement or cleaning, and they do not use best efforts to fix it within 14 days of your written notice (or sooner in an emergency), you may have the work done and bill the actual, reasonable cost, payable with the next rent or from the deposit once the tenancy has ended (NRS 118A.440).

What This Means in Practice

• Give tenants one clear way to report a problem in writing, and keep the dates.
• Have vendors lined up before you need them, especially for air conditioning, water heaters and plumbing.
• Record what was reported, when, and what was done, so a dispute turns on facts.
• Keep up with seasonal work so fewer problems become emergencies: see the seasonal maintenance checklist and routine property inspections.

Next Step

For the homes we manage, repairs run through our maintenance service, with 24/7 emergency maintenance. If you are weighing whether to handle this yourself, hiring a manager versus self-managing sets out the trade. To talk about your rental, call 702.278.4781.

Statutory references on this page were read from the official text at leg.state.nv.us on 11 November 2026. Nevada’s Legislature meets in odd-numbered years; the next regular session is 2027. This is general information for Nevada rental owners, not legal advice. For a specific situation, consult a Nevada attorney.