Property Management Blog

In Nevada, rental security deposits are governed under Nevada Revised Statues 118A.242.

Among the various requirements, section 242 states that the maximum amount of a security deposit that can be required is three months rent. NRS 118A.242(1). Also, it states that the landlord must send an itemized accounting of how the security deposit was spent to the tenant within 30 days of the tenant moving out. NRS 118A.242(4). 

In order to avoid mis-communication and hard feelings from the tenant and to protect the landlord from any future legal action here are some helpful best practices. 

1) Take pictures/video of how the property was delivered to the tenant. This can be done on the initial walk-through with the tenant. The pictures/video will provide objective evidence to counter any legal or regulatory action that a disgruntled tenant may threaten to bring. 

2) Have a checklist of the things that the landlord expects to be clean along with the prices to clean them that will be taken from the security deposit. This will put the tenant on notice of what you will charge and also take away any argument that they didn’t know how much it was going to be.

3) Place security deposits in a separate bank account.

4) Take pictures/video during the final walk-through of the condition of the property with emphasis on any areas that needed to be cleaned and/or repaired. 

5) Use the same checklist in the initial walk-through for the final walk-through. 

6) Promptly prepare the security deposit deposition when the tenant moves out. Thirty days will come quicker than you think. 

Following these recommendations will help landlords effectively and lawfully deal with tenants’ security deposits.