Housing

My things were left behind after I moved out or was evicted

Your landlord can't just throw your things out or hold them until you pay rent. Nevada sets two clocks: 5 days to get your essentials and 30 days of storage for everything else.

What to do first

1. Get your essentials in the first 5 days. After an eviction or lockout, the landlord must give you a reasonable chance to collect medicine, baby formula, basic clothes and personal care items during the next 5 days (NRS 118A.460(3)). Ask in writing (a text you can screenshot works as a record) for a time.

2. If the landlord refuses, file a Motion to Retrieve Essential Personal Effects right away. It has to be filed within 5 days after you moved out or were removed. The court sets a hearing within 5 days and has the landlord served. The judge can set a date and time for you to get your things and award up to $2,500 (NRS 40.253(9)-(10)).

3. For everything else, arrange a pickup within 30 days. The landlord has to store your property safely for 30 days and let you or someone you authorize collect it. They can charge the reasonable, actual cost of inventory, moving and storage before handing it over (NRS 118A.460(1)(a)). Ask for those charges in writing.

4. If they won't release it or the charges are wrong, file a Motion to Contest Personal Property Lien and for Return of Personal Property. The court sets a hearing within 10 days, decides what you really owe, and can order your things released with or without payment (NRS 40.253(7)-(8)).

5. Make sure the landlord is served. The court will order the papers served on the landlord by the sheriff, constable or a process server. Hearings come fast, so follow up with the server the day you file, and bring the Affidavit of Service to the hearing. Without proof of service, the judge may not act.

6. Keep your address current with the landlord. After the 30 days, the landlord can dispose of what's left only after trying to find you, mailing you written notice to your present or last known address, and waiting 14 days (NRS 118A.460(1)(b)).

Deadlines

What	Deadline	Source
Landlord must let you collect essentials	During the 5 days after the eviction or lockout	NRS 118A.460(3)
File the Motion to Retrieve Essential Personal Effects	Within 5 days after you moved out or were removed; hearing within 5 days of filing	NRS 40.253(9)
Landlord must store everything else	30 days after the eviction, abandonment or end of the rental period	NRS 118A.460(1)(a)
File the Motion to Contest Personal Property Lien	Within 20 days after the eviction order or abandonment, or 20 days after you've moved out and asked for or received the storage charges, whichever is later; hearing within 10 days of filing	NRS 40.253(7)-(8)
Before the landlord can dispose of your things	30 days of storage, then written notice mailed to you, then 14 more days	NRS 118A.460(1)(b)

Read from NRS chapters 40 and 118A as posted by the Nevada Legislature, October 2026. These deadlines count weekends and court holidays, and one that ends on a weekend or court holiday moves to the next court day (JCRCP 6(a)), so don't count on extra days: file as soon as you can.

What the landlord can't do

Hold your household goods until you pay rent or the cost of the eviction. A landlord who does that owes you damages, which can include up to $2,500 on top of your losses (NRS 118A.520, 118A.390).
Toss your things before the 30 days and the 14-day notice have run (NRS 118A.460(1)).
Be careless with your property while it's stored. The landlord is liable for negligent or wrongful storage (NRS 118A.460(1)(a)).

Forms

Tenant's Motion to Retrieve Essential Personal Effects — PDF
Tenant's Motion to Contest Personal Property Lien and for Return of Personal Property — PDF
Affidavit of Service (justice court) — PDF
Application to waive the $71 filing fee — Las Vegas | Henderson | North Las Vegas

Forms and the $71 motion fee from the Civil Law Self-Help Center.

Where to file

The justice court for the township where the rental is. Las Vegas Justice Court: Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, Civil Division 2nd floor, 702-671-3478, Monday to Thursday 7am to 5pm; civil filings there must be made electronically through eFileNV. Henderson Justice Court: 243 Water St., 702-455-7951, Monday to Thursday 7am to 5pm. North Las Vegas Justice Court: 2428 N. Martin L. King Blvd, Building A, 702-455-7801, Monday to Thursday 8am to 4:30pm.

Checked on the courts' own pages, October 2026. Other townships are on the Self-Help Center's justice courts page.

Free help

Neighborhood Justice Center — 200 E. Lewis Ave, 4th floor, Las Vegas. 702-455-3898. Free mediation that can help you and the landlord agree on a time and place to hand your things over. Trying mediation doesn't stop you from filing a motion.

Civil Law Self-Help Center — Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 1st floor. Free copies of both motions, and staff will check them before you file.

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada — 725 E. Charleston Blvd. 702-386-1070. Free legal help for tenants who qualify.

Good to know

A car left behind is handled under the abandoned vehicle law, not these rules (NRS 118A.460(1)(c)). For a business space, the landlord can dispose of what's left after mailing you notice by certified mail and waiting 14 days, and can charge reasonable storage costs first; you can dispute those costs in court (NRS 118C.230). If you were locked out without a court order, you may also have a claim for the lockout itself: see My landlord locked me out. To get your deposit back, see My landlord has my security deposit.