Code enforcement Las Vegas: reporting a problem property, or answering a notice
Code enforcement Las Vegas residents deal with is the city or county power to make an owner clean up a dangerous building, junk, trash, junk cars or weeds. Nevada law lets the City of Las Vegas and Clark County set up these rules by ordinance. It also sets the limits: written notice, a deadline, a hearing and a right to appeal. Neighbors can also go to court on their own. Here is how it works, whether you are reporting a property or you got the notice.
What code enforcement can order
A city may order a property owner to (NRS 268.4122(1)):
Fix a danger. Repair, make safe or remove a dangerous structure or
condition.
Clear junk. Debris, rubbish, litter, garbage, abandoned or junk
vehicles, and junk appliances.
Clear weeds. Weeds and noxious plant growth.
The county has the same power for property outside city limits. It can also act on any other public nuisance its ordinance defines (NRS 244.3605(1)). So first find out whether the property is inside the City of Las Vegas or in unincorporated Clark County. That tells you who enforces.
If you are reporting a problem property
1. Write down what you see. Take dated photos from your own property or the street.
Note how long it has gone on.
2. Report it to the city or county. If the owner doesn't fix it after notice, the city
or county can do the work itself and charge the owner. Daily civil penalties apply too (NRS 268.4122(2)(c), (d), (4); NRS 244.3605(2)(c), (d), (4)).
3. Junk cars in plain view. In a county of 700,000 or more people, such as Clark
County, the ordinance may let the city or county have a tow car haul away abandoned or junk vehicles
that aren't hidden by a garage, fence, cover or plants (NRS 268.4122(3), NRS 244.3605(3)).
4. If the problem is crime, not junk. A city can treat repeat trouble as a chronic
nuisance. That means three or more nuisance activities on a property in any 30-day period, or a place
used to sell or make illegal drugs (NRS 268.4124(7)(a)). The city attorney can sue. A court can close
the property for up to 1 year and order penalties (NRS 268.4124(1), (3)).
5. You can also sue yourself. A nuisance is anything harmful to health, indecent or
offensive to the senses, or that blocks the free use of property, so that it interferes with the
comfortable enjoyment of life or property. Anyone whose property is harmed, or whose enjoyment is
lessened, can sue. A court can order it stopped and award damages (NRS 40.140(1)). In unincorporated
county areas, you can also file a written nuisance complaint with the county clerk. The county
commission then holds a hearing or sends it to the district attorney (NRS 244.360(1), (5)).
If you got a code enforcement notice
The ordinance must give you these protections (NRS 268.4122(2), NRS 244.3605(2)):
| Step | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The notice | Sent to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested. It names the problem and the date you must fix it by | NRS 268.4122(2)(a)(1), NRS 244.3605(2)(a)(1) |
| Someone else's crime caused it | If it's not an immediate danger and someone else's criminal act caused it, such as dumping or graffiti, you get at least 30 days | NRS 268.4122(2)(a)(2), NRS 244.3605(2)(a)(2) |
| You disagree | You can get a hearing on the order, and appeal. The ordinance says whether the appeal goes to the city council or county commission, or to court | NRS 268.4122(2)(a)(3), NRS 244.3605(2)(a)(3) |
| Your deadline while you wait | The deadline is paused from when you ask for a hearing until you get a decision | NRS 268.4122(2)(b), NRS 244.3605(2)(b) |
| Fines | Civil penalties for each day after the deadline that the problem isn't fixed. You can get a separate hearing on the penalties | NRS 268.4122(2)(a)(4), (d); NRS 244.3605(2)(a)(4), (d) |
| If you don't fix it | The city or county can do the work and recover what it spent on labor and materials | NRS 268.4122(4), NRS 244.3605(4) |
| On your tax bill | The cost and penalties can become a special assessment on the property, collected like property tax. Unpaid, it can lead to a tax sale | NRS 268.4122(5), NRS 244.3605(5), NRS 244.360(4) |
| Old unpaid penalties | Can go on the tax bill only if 12 months have passed since the deadline, you were billed or notified, and they total more than $5,000 | NRS 268.4122(6), NRS 244.3605(6) |
| Chronic nuisance (city) | Court penalties of up to $500 a day for a home, or $750 a day for other property, plus the city's costs and tenants' moving costs | NRS 268.4124(3) |
Read 2026-11-06 off the Nevada Revised Statutes: chapter 268 revision stamped 9/9/2026 (2026R1), chapter 244 stamped 4/15/2026 (2025), chapter 40 stamped 4/15/2026 (2025).
What you do now, if you got a notice
1. Find the deadline. It's printed on the notice. Put it in your phone today.
2. Fix it if you can. Then take dated photos and keep receipts. Fixing it before the
deadline stops daily penalties from starting.
3. Ask for a hearing if the notice is wrong. Do it within the time the notice or the
ordinance gives. Asking pauses your deadline until you get a decision.
4. Tell them if someone else caused it. If the junk was dumped on you or the damage was
vandalism, say so. You may be owed at least 30 days.
Good to know
Renters. If your landlord won't fix your own unit, see
repairs. Your rights against the landlord are different from a code
case against the owner.
Someone parked a car on your property? See
unlawful tow and tow checker.
Animals. Barking, loose or dangerous dogs go to animal control. See
animal control in Las Vegas.
Behind on property tax already? See
Clark County property tax.