Nevada Security Deposit Law

Maximum deposit

Landlords may not collect a security deposit, surety bond or combination (including last month's rent) worth more than three months' rent (NRS 118A.242(1)). (NRS 118A.242(1))

Three months' periodic rent, counting any surety bond and any last month's rent

Return deadline

Landlords must return the remaining deposit with an itemized written accounting no later than 30 days after the tenancy ends (NRS 118A.242(4)). (NRS 118A.242(4))

Itemized statement of deductions

Landlords must give the tenant an itemized, written accounting of how the deposit or surety bond was used (NRS 118A.242(4)). (NRS 118A.242(4))

Interest on the deposit

Nevada law does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits (NRS 118A.240–118A.250 are silent). (NRS 118A.240–118A.250 (silent))

Penalty for wrongful withholding

A landlord who fails to return the deposit within 30 days owes the entire deposit plus up to another full deposit amount as the court decides (NRS 118A.242(6)–(7)). (NRS 118A.242(6)–(7))

Where the deposit is held

Nevada does not tell landlords where to keep a deposit, but a tenant's claim to it outranks the claims of the landlord's creditors (NRS 118A.242(9)). (NRS 118A.242, NRS 118A.240)

Receipt or written notice of the deposit

When a tenant asks, a Nevada landlord must hand over a signed written receipt for the security deposit or surety bond (NRS 118A.250). (NRS 118A.250)

The receipt must be signed and also covers any surety bond, rent and other fees paid. Until the landlord tenders a requested receipt, the tenant may refuse to pay rent.

Move-in condition checklist

Every written Nevada lease must include a signed record of the inventory and condition of the premises under the tenant's exclusive control (NRS 118A.200(3)(k)). (NRS 118A.200(3)(k), (5)(d))

Without a written agreement, the law presumes the tenant must return the premises in the same condition as at move-in, normal wear excepted (NRS 118A.200(5)(d)).

Pet deposits

Nevada has no pet-deposit rule of its own, so any pet money held as security falls under the three-month combined cap, and landlords may not refuse a disabled tenant because of an assistance animal (NRS 118A.240, 118.105). (NRS 118A.240, NRS 118.105)

Nonrefundable fees

Nevada voids lease clauses that make a security deposit nonrefundable, apart from a reasonable nonrefundable cleaning charge (NRS 118A.242(8)). (NRS 118A.242)

The only nonrefundable charge a lease may contain is a reasonable cleaning fee; any other clause calling a deposit nonrefundable or waiving deposit rights is void as against public policy.

Small-landlord exemptions

Nevada's deposit rules apply to every landlord covered by chapter 118A regardless of size; the chapter's exclusions turn on the type of occupancy, such as hotel stays under 30 days, not on how many units an owner has (NRS 118A.180). (NRS 118A.180)

Deposit alternatives and installments

With the landlord's consent, a Nevada tenant may buy a surety bond instead of paying all or part of the deposit, and the bond counts toward the three-month cap (NRS 118A.242(1)-(3), (5)). (NRS 118A.242, NRS 118A.240)

The landlord need not accept a bond and may not require one. If a tenant disputes the landlord's itemized accounting in writing to the surety within 30 days, the surety may not report the claim to a credit bureau without a judgment.