Las Vegas Repairs: Nevada's 14-Day Notice and the 48-Hour Rule
Nevada repair law runs on two clocks. If the air conditioning, water, power or door lock is out, your landlord gets 48 hours. For most other problems, from a leaking roof to roaches, the landlord gets 14 days. Which clock applies decides what you can do next, and one mistake with withheld rent can cost you your defense in eviction court.
AT A GLANCE
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The one step you can't skip
Every Nevada repair remedy begins with a written notice to your landlord or manager. The Civil Law Self-Help Center, run by Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada under a contract with Clark County, is blunt about this: telling the landlord in person or submitting a work order is not enough. Without written notice, you may not be able to use your rights under state law at all.
The Self-Help Center recommends that you:
List every problem in the letter. The statute says the notice must specify each failure and ask the landlord to fix it.
Date and sign it, and keep a copy.
Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can prove when it was mailed.
The Self-Help Center's Habitability and Essential Services page has a free sample letter, plus an information packet in English and Spanish.
There is one exception. If a government agency that inspects for building, housing or health code violations has already given the landlord written notice of the problem, the law lets you skip your own notice in two situations: to recover damages, and to withhold rent once the landlord misses the agency's deadline (NRS 118A.355(4)).
A work order in the tenant portal is not a legal notice in Nevada. A signed letter, sent so you can prove the date, is.
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Which clock is yours?
Start by sorting your problem. The Self-Help Center puts it this way: an "essential" problem is one without which your home isn't livable. Everything else that makes the home unfit is a "nonessential" habitability problem.
Essential service | Habitability problem | |
|---|---|---|
Examples | Heat, air conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a functioning door lock | Roof or window leaks, plumbing that doesn't work properly, broken lights or outlets, trash not removed, rodents or insects in areas the landlord controls, damaged floors, walls, ceilings, stairs or railings, broken appliances or elevators the landlord supplied |
Landlord's deadline after written notice | 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays | 14 days, counting weekends |
Law | NRS 118A.380 | NRS 118A.290 and 118A.355 |
Can you withhold rent? | Yes, but only if you were current on rent when you gave notice | Yes, but you must deposit it with the justice court |
Court deposit required? | No, according to the Self-Help Center | Yes, or you lose the withholding defense |
A home also fails the habitability standard if it violates building, housing or health codes. You may have agreed in your lease to handle certain repairs or chores, such as taking out trash. That's allowed if the agreement was made in good faith, so read your lease before you write.
The landlord only has to fix the problem or use their best efforts to fix it within the deadline. If a contractor is scheduled and work has started, the remedies below may not be available yet.
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When the 48-hour clock runs out
If the landlord willfully or negligently fails to restore an essential service, NRS 118A.380 lets you choose one of these:
Option | How it works |
|---|---|
Buy the service yourself | Get the heat, cooling, water or power restored yourself and deduct the actual, reasonable cost from rent. Keep every receipt. |
Stay somewhere else | Get comparable housing until the problem is fixed. Your rent stops for that time, and you can recover the extra cost of the substitute housing. |
Withhold rent | Hold rent, with no late fees, until the landlord restores the service or tries in good faith to restore it. Only allowed if you were current on rent when you gave notice. |
Sue for damages | Recover damages, including for the lost use of your home or its lower rental value. |
If you go this route for an essential service, the statute says you can't also use the general lease-breach remedy (NRS 118A.350) or repair and deduct for the same breach. None of these options are available if you, someone in your household or a guest caused the problem deliberately or by carelessness.
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When the 14-day clock runs out
For a material habitability problem that isn't fixed within 14 days, NRS 118A.355 lets you:
End the lease immediately and move out. The landlord must return your prepaid rent and the security deposit you're owed.
Recover actual damages in court.
Ask the court for other relief, such as an order requiring the repair.
Withhold rent as it comes due, without late fees or notice charges, until the landlord fixes the problem or tries in good faith to.
You can't use these remedies if you caused the problem, or if the landlord couldn't make the repair because you refused lawful access to the home.
The escrow rule that trips people up
Nevada requires every justice court to set up a way for tenants to deposit withheld rent into a court escrow account. If you withhold rent for a 14-day habitability problem and don't deposit it, you have no withholding defense when the landlord files for nonpayment.
In practice, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada explains it this way. If you get an eviction notice, file your answer within the time on the notice and choose the habitability or essential services defense. Then pay the withheld rent to the court once you have your case number. Keep the money set aside from the start so it's ready. Spending withheld rent is the fastest way to lose a strong case.
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Repair it yourself and deduct the cost
NRS 118A.360 lets you pay for a repair and take it off your rent, with limits:
The reasonable cost must be less than $100 or one month's rent, whichever is greater.
Give written notice first and wait 14 days, or less in an emergency.
The work must be done in a workmanlike way. If your lease names a person or company that must do repairs, use them.
Give the landlord an itemized statement of the cost, then deduct it.
The landlord's total liability this way is limited to $100 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, in any 12-month period.
The Self-Help Center suggests checking your lease before you call any contractor, because of the required-contractor rule.
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If the landlord shuts things off or locks you out
A shutoff meant to push you out is not a repair problem. Under NRS 118A.390, if a landlord willfully cuts an essential service, locks you out or removes you without a court order, you can recover actual damages, up to $2,500 set by the court, or both. You can also file a verified complaint for expedited relief to get back in. That complaint must be filed within 5 judicial days of the landlord's act, or it will be dismissed. The Self-Help Center's "Illegal Lockouts and Service Termination" page walks through the forms.
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Retaliation is illegal
Under NRS 118A.510, a landlord can't end your tenancy, refuse to renew, raise your rent, cut services or threaten eviction because you complained in good faith about a code violation, whether to a government agency or to the landlord. Retaliation is a defense you can raise in your eviction answer. The Self-Help Center notes it can also support a small claims case for your damages plus up to $2,500.
There are limits. It may not count as retaliation if you caused the problem, your tenancy was ended for cause, the repairs can only be done with the unit empty, or a rent increase applies to all tenants.
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Who to call in Southern Nevada
City of Las Vegas Code Enforcement: 702-229-6615, option 3, Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or CodeEnforcement@lasvegasnevada.gov. The city's tenant brochure says it responds to complaints about no heat or air conditioning, inadequate plumbing, unpermitted work, electrical problems and infestations. It does not handle mold or civil and money disputes between landlords and tenants.
Outside city limits: the Self-Help Center lists Clark County's Code Enforcement and Public Response Office, 702-455-4191, and Henderson Code Enforcement for Henderson addresses.
Southern Nevada Health District: it says it doesn't enforce rental housing rules or respond to landlord-tenant issues. It refers callers to the UNLV School of Public Health Landlord Tenant Hotline, 702-895-1971.
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada: 702-386-1070. Its Civil Law Self-Help Center has free sample letters, eviction-answer help and Ask-A-Lawyer programs.
Nevada Legal Services: free civil legal help for low-income Nevadans, with online intake at nevadalegalservices.org.
A code citation can be powerful. Once an inspector has given the landlord written notice and the deadline passes, you can withhold rent without sending your own 14-day letter.
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Before you call
☐ Your lease, including any clause about who does repairs
☐ The landlord's or manager's mailing address for notices
☐ A dated, signed copy of your repair letter and the certified mail receipt
☐ Photos or video of each problem, with dates
☐ Whether you were current on rent when you sent the notice
☐ Any inspection report or citation from code enforcement
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WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
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More help in Las Vegas
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 23, 2026. Statutes from leg.state.nv.us; procedures from the Civil Law Self-Help Center and Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada; local contacts from city, county and health district pages.
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