Housing

My landlord won't make repairs

Nevada gives you real tools when the A/C dies or the unit isn't livable, but only if you follow the steps in order. It all starts with a written notice, and a phone call or a work order doesn't count.

What to do first

1. Decide which kind of problem you have. An essential service problem is no heat, A/C, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a working door lock, or something else the unit can't be lived in without (NRS 118A.380). Everything else that makes the place unfit is a habitability problem: leaking roof or windows, broken plumbing or wiring, no garbage service, pests, broken floors, stairs or railings, or a housing or health code violation (NRS 118A.290). The two have different clocks and different fixes.

2. Send the landlord a written notice. List each problem and ask for it to be fixed (NRS 118A.355(1), 118A.380(1)). Mail it certified, return receipt requested, to the manager or the address the landlord gave you for notices, and keep a copy. The Self-Help Center has a sample letter (Forms below). The one shortcut: if a code enforcement agency has already given the landlord written notice of the problem, some remedies are open to you without your own letter (NRS 118A.355(4), 118A.380(3)).

3. If you might hold back rent, be paid up first. For an essential service problem, you can only withhold rent if you were current on rent on the day you gave the notice (NRS 118A.380(4)).

4. Give the landlord the time the law allows. 48 hours for an essential service, not counting weekends or holidays. 14 days for other habitability problems. The landlord is in the clear if they fix it or make their best effort to in that time (NRS 118A.380(1), 118A.355(1)).

5. If it isn't fixed, pick one remedy from the lists below, and keep receipts for everything you spend.

6. If an eviction notice shows up, answer it on time. Some landlords respond to withheld rent with a notice. File your tenant answer before the deadline on the notice and say that you're using your rights under NRS 118A after giving written notice. See I got an eviction notice.

Deadlines and limits

What	Rule	Source
Landlord's time to fix an essential service	48 hours after getting your written notice, not counting Saturday, Sunday or holidays	NRS 118A.380(1)
Landlord's time to fix other habitability problems	14 days after getting your written notice	NRS 118A.355(1)
Repair it yourself and deduct	Only after 14 days' written notice (sooner in an emergency), up to $100 or one month's rent, whichever is more, in any 12 months, with an itemized statement to the landlord	NRS 118A.360
Withholding rent for a habitability problem	You must deposit the withheld rent with the justice court, or it is no defense to an eviction	NRS 118A.355(5)

Read from NRS chapter 118A as posted by the Nevada Legislature, October 2026.

If an essential service isn't restored

Buy a reasonable amount of the service yourself (a space heater, a portable A/C, bottled water) and take the actual cost off your rent.
Move to comparable housing until it's fixed. You owe no rent on the unit for that time, and you can recover what the other place cost beyond your normal rent.
Sue for your actual losses, including the lost use of the unit.
Hold back rent that comes due until the landlord makes a good-faith attempt to restore the service, with no late fees. For essential services the law doesn't require you to deposit it with the court.

NRS 118A.380(1). If you use these remedies for a problem, you can't also use repair-and-deduct for that same problem (NRS 118A.380(2)).

If another habitability problem isn't fixed

End the lease right away and move out; the landlord must return prepaid rent and the deposit you're owed (NRS 118A.355(1)(a), (3)).
Sue for your losses or ask the court to order the repair (NRS 118A.355(1)(b)-(c)).
Repair it and deduct, within the limits in the table (NRS 118A.360). Check your lease first: it can name the company that has to do the work (NRS 118A.360(2)).
Withhold rent without late fees, deposited into the court's escrow account (NRS 118A.355(1)(d), (5)).

None of these apply if you, someone in your household, or your guest caused the problem, or if the landlord couldn't fix it because you refused lawful access (NRS 118A.355(2), 118A.380(5)).

Forms

Habitability and Essential Services Information Packet — English | Español
Sample letter to your landlord (repairs or essential services) — English | Español
Tenant's answer to an eviction notice — see the forms on I got an eviction notice.

Forms from the Civil Law Self-Help Center.

Report it to code enforcement

A written notice from a government inspector helps you: it can stand in for your own letter for some remedies (NRS 118A.355(4), 118A.380(3)). Who to call depends on where you live:

Unincorporated Clark County: Clark County Code Enforcement
City of Las Vegas: Code Enforcement
Henderson: Code Enforcement
Health problems such as sewage, pests or no water: Southern Nevada Health District

Free help

Civil Law Self-Help Center — Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 1st floor. The repair packet, sample letters and answer forms, free.

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

Neighborhood Justice Center — free, voluntary mediation between landlords and tenants. 702-455-3898.

Good to know

Your landlord can't charge you for repairs that are the landlord's job, including a home warranty deductible or service fee, unless you or your guests caused the damage (NRS 118A.290(4)-(5)). A lease can make you responsible for some repairs only if that deal was made in good faith, and not because the landlord refused to do them (NRS 118A.290(2)-(3)). Complaining about conditions is protected: the landlord can't raise your rent, cut services, refuse to renew or evict you in retaliation (NRS 118A.510). See Know your rights as a renter. If the landlord shut a service off on purpose to force you out, that's a lockout, and the faster lockout process applies.