Nevada Landlord Retaliation Law: Up to $2,500 Plus Damages

Short answer: Nevada landlord retaliation is prohibited by NRS 118A.510, which bars a landlord from ending or refusing to renew your tenancy, raising rent, cutting essential services, or bringing or threatening an eviction because you made a good-faith complaint, joined a tenant organization, or used other protected rights. A proven violation entitles you to the remedies in NRS 118A.390: actual damages, an amount of up to $2,500 set by the court, or both. Nevada has no presumption window, so you must connect the landlord’s act to your protected activity.

What makes Nevada’s statute unusual is its breadth. Beyond repair complaints, it covers fair housing complaints and tenants who are victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking. It also pairs with a fast-track court procedure for lockouts and utility shutoffs.

Protected Activity Under Nevada Law

NRS 118A.510 protects a wider range of conduct than most states’ retaliation statutes. You are protected when you have done any of the following:

• Complained in good faith about a building, housing or health and safety code violation, or about a violation of the landlord-tenant chapter.
• Formed, organized or joined a tenant organization.
• Raised a habitability issue in a court or administrative proceeding.
• Filed a fair housing complaint.
• Been a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking.

The statute also lists certain federal, tribal and state worker status among protected categories. Good faith matters throughout: a complaint invented to block an eviction you already expected is not the kind the statute shields.

What Counts as Nevada Landlord Retaliation

Nevada names more retaliatory acts than the older uniform-act states. Along with raising rent, reducing essential services, and bringing or threatening a possession action, NRS 118A.510 lists terminating your tenancy and refusing to renew it. That matters in a state where many month-to-month tenancies end on a no-cause notice, because a no-cause notice served right after a complaint can itself be the retaliatory act.

Exceptions the Landlord Can Raise

The prohibition does not apply in several situations listed in NRS 118A.510, including when:

• Your own lack of reasonable care caused the code violation.
• The tenancy is terminated for cause.
• A citation requires the unit to be vacant while the work is done.
• A rent increase applies uniformly to all tenants.

The uniform-increase exception is a common landlord argument. If every unit in your building got the same increase, retaliation is hard to show. If only you did, that difference is strong evidence.

No Presumption: How You Prove It

Nevada’s statute does not set a period after a complaint during which retaliation is presumed. You carry the burden of showing the protected act and the landlord’s response are connected. Useful evidence includes the dates of your complaint and the landlord’s notice, any message referring to your complaint, and how the landlord treated tenants who did not complain. The landlord retaliation checker walks through these points.

Remedies: Damages Up to $2,500 and an Eviction Defense

NRS 118A.510 sends you to the remedies of NRS 118A.390 and gives you a defense in any retaliatory eviction case. Under NRS 118A.390, you may recover actual damages, an amount of not more than $2,500 set by the court, or both. In setting the amount, the court weighs the landlord’s good faith, the course of conduct between you, and the degree of harm to you.

Seeking the retaliation remedy does not stop you from also claiming damages or an injunction for other breaches of the rental agreement or the landlord’s habitability duties.

In a summary eviction, you raise retaliation in your written response to the notice. For Las Vegas tenants, the Civil Law Self-Help Center points to an online form for filing the “Summary Eviction: Tenant’s Answer.”

A Worked Example

Priya rents an apartment in Reno for $1,600 a month on a month-to-month basis. On March 2, 2026, she gives written notice that the air-conditioning and hot water are out; when nothing happens she reports the unit to code enforcement, which cites the landlord. On March 20, she receives a notice ending her tenancy with no reason given. Nobody else in the building got one.

Because Nevada has no presumption, Priya relies on the timing, the citation and the fact that she alone was targeted. If the court finds retaliation, she has a defense to the eviction and may recover her actual damages, an amount up to $2,500, or both, under NRS 118A.390.

Lockouts, Shutoffs and Withholding Rent

If a landlord locks you out, willfully interrupts an essential service, or retakes the unit unlawfully, NRS 118A.390 lets you seek immediate possession, terminate the agreement, and recover the same damages. A fast-track case is available: you file a verified complaint within 5 judicial days of the unlawful act, and the court must hold a hearing within 3 judicial days of filing. Filing fees are deferred for the tenant.

For heat, air-conditioning, water, hot water, electricity, gas or a working door lock, NRS 118A.380 gives the landlord 48 hours after written notice, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to fix the problem or use best efforts. After that you may buy substitute service and deduct the cost, recover damages, withhold rent, or move to comparable housing with rent abated. Withholding under that section requires that you were current on rent when you gave notice.

For other material habitability failures, NRS 118A.355 lets you withhold rent without late fees if the landlord fails to remedy the problem within 14 days of written notice. Under subsection 5, the rent must be deposited in the justice court’s escrow, or withholding is no defense to eviction.

Harassment through entry is also limited. Under NRS 118A.330, except in emergencies the landlord must give 24 hours’ notice, enter only at reasonable times during normal business hours, and may not abuse access or use it to harass you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Nevada landlord refuse to renew my lease because I complained?

No. Refusing to renew is one of the retaliatory acts named in NRS 118A.510, along with terminating the tenancy. The landlord can still end a tenancy for cause.

Is retaliation against a domestic violence victim covered?

Yes. NRS 118A.510 lists being a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking among the protected categories, so a landlord may not raise rent or move to evict for that reason.

Is there a 90-day or 6-month presumption in Nevada?

No. NRS 118A.510 contains no time-based presumption. Timing is still powerful evidence, but the burden stays with you to show the landlord acted because of your protected activity.

How much can I recover?

NRS 118A.390 allows actual damages, an amount of not more than $2,500 set by the court, or both. The court considers the landlord’s good faith, your history with the landlord, and how much harm you suffered.

Can I stop paying rent while I fight a retaliatory eviction?

Only through the statutory process. Withholding under NRS 118A.355 requires 14 days’ written notice first, and the rent must be deposited in the court’s escrow to count as a defense.

What to Do This Week

Put your written complaint, any code citation, and the landlord’s notice in one folder, and calendar the response deadline printed on the notice so your answer is filed in time. Then compare other states in the tenant protection laws by state hub, read the landlord retaliation guide, and check Nevada security deposit law if you may move. This page is general information, not legal advice; to find free help, use LSC’s get legal help finder.

Sources

• NRS 118A.510, Retaliatory conduct by landlord prohibited
• NRS 118A.390, Unlawful removal or interruption of essential services
• NRS 118A.380, Failure to supply essential items or services
• NRS 118A.355, Landlord’s failure to maintain dwelling
• NRS 118A.330, Landlord’s access to dwelling
• Civil Law Self-Help Center, Evictions and Housing
• Legal Services Corporation, Get Legal Help