LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — First thing in the morning, Dan Cunningham goes outside to turn the water on so he can shower and fill a cooler over his kitchen sink for handwashing and drinking.
"And then I have to come back out when I'm done with the water and turn it off."
That's how it goes throughout the day and night. On again, off again, repeat.
WATCH | What rights do tenants have in Nevada over situations like Dan's?
"It's just a constant hassle. I'm trying to be a good citizen and not waste 1,000 gallons of water a day."
In June 2024, the Las Vegas Valley Water District detected a leak at the home Dan rents on Magic Moon Lane near Sahara and Jones. They sent him a notice of "continuous flow" and provided graphs of the amount of water being lost.
Prior to the leak, Dan says his water bill was about $35 per month.
"For 10 years. It's always stayed about the same."
At first it spiked to $60. Then the leak got worse, and so did his bill.
"And there were two months at $180. I notified the property manager, and they did nothing!"
According to Dan's lease, "Landlord shall be responsible for all systems including heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing and sewer lines."
Eventually, the property manager did send out plumbers who determined the leak was underground, and they'd have to dig up the front yard to find it.
But they told Dan they're were going to increase his rent $200 per month for an estimated $3,000 repair bill.
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"That is absolutely outrageous!" said Attorney Jordan Savage with the housing team at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (LACSN).
"Any problems with a system that are caused by normal wear and tear — and not caused by the tenant — are always the landlord's responsibility, so for this landlord not to have stepped up and immediately fixed the problem, at no charge to the tenant, is an outrageous abuse of the tenant's rights in this case," Savage said.
After multiple attempts to reach the homeowner, I finally heard back from the property manager who sent me an email, blaming Dan for not following the steps they laid out for him.
"They actually requested that I contact the HOA and get permission to dig the front yard up. I'm a tenant! I have no rights here!"
In that regard, Dan's right, as the HOA confirmed in an email to him saying, "... Since you are a tenant I have to go through the owner first."
"It's the property owner's property. It's the property owner's pipe. It's the property owner's responsibility, not only to you, but to the environment of Southern Nevada," I said to Dan.
"I agree," he said. "This seems like a crime."
So, what are a tenant's options in a situation like this?
LACSN tells me if it's an essential service like power, air conditioning or water, you have to notify the landlord — they recommend using certified mail — and then the landlord has 48 hours to make reasonable efforts to fix the problem. If they don't, the tenant can withhold rent, but that's not without risk.
"I don't want to allow the broker to give me an eviction notice when I've done nothing wrong. I paid my rent for 10 years," Dan said.
So, he went to court to get paperwork outlining what other options he had. He learned he could terminate his lease and move on, or sue his landlord.
"There are no choices there! Those are not... This doesn't work for a family!" Dan said.
Another option, says Savage, "You could do the repair yourself and deduct it from the rent — withhold that from the rent — and then bring it to court in that way as well."
But there's no guarantee you'll win in court. Savage says it's at best a calculated risk, and an intimidating process many tenants can't afford.
Fed up and feeling stuck, Dan sent a demand letter to his landlord.
"And then I finally got a notice that they're not going to renew my lease this time. They renewed my lease in January, and this was a known defect at that time. It's eight months later and they haven't fixed it."
Savage says Nevada laws are partly to blame.
"That's a real big problem and a real reason why we need new laws that better protect tenants for exactly this situation," Savage said.
In this year's legislative session, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed several tenants' rights bills passed by the legislature, including measures that would have revised court processes for unresponsive landlords, required disclosure of all fees, and reformed eviction procedures. This marked the second legislative session in a row that Lombardo blocked tenant-friendly housing reforms, citing concerns that the bills would destabilize Nevada's rental market.
"It is an ongoing problem, and the system is stacked against the tenant," Savage said.
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Dan chose to leave his lease early, knowing the end was coming. He's moving out of the home he lived in for a decade, hoping to have better luck with a new landlord.
As for the Water District, we all know how quick they are to hit customers with excessive use fees, so I asked them why they couldn't just fine the landlord for failing to fix the leak. They told me it's not that simple.
What they can do, in extreme cases like this, is take the water bill out of the tenant's name and put it into the property owner's name. They would have done that for Dan, but since he's not staying in the home, the Water District has flagged the address to make sure the same thing can't happen to the next tenant.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND THE RISKS
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada answers your questions on tenant's rights
LACSN emphasized that the law is very pro-landlord and even an unjust eviction could have a ripple effect for tenants.
"They're worried about the negative impact it could have on their credit, about getting evicted, and there's no assurance that they're going to win a lawsuit. There's no assurance or guarantee that the court is going to agree with them if they deduct [repair costs] from their rent, so there's always a calculated risk involved whatever route you take," Savage said.
Savage says the governor let Nevada tenants down by vetoing, "A law that would've changed a lot of what we're talking about regarding the steps for habitability and making it less onerous on the tenant. The landlord lobby in Carson City of course is very, very powerful compared to the tenant lobby because there's a lot more money on that side of the aisle, and it's hard to get reasonable, good legislation to protect our low-income tenant community."
LACSN laid out the steps for what you can do if you're willing to fight for your rights.
If it's an essential service like power, air conditioning or water, you have to notify the landlord. LACSN recommends using certified mail. The landlord then has 48 hours to make best/reasonable efforts to fix the problem. If they don't fix it, you can break your lease, pay and deduct it from the rent and sue the landlord for monetary damages.
"They have a legal obligation to spend the money to fix air conditioning, to fix water leaks, to make your unit habitable," said Savage. "You're paying rent for that service, and if you're not getting a habitable unit in return, they're the ones in violation of the lease, not you."
If it's a habitability problem, like mold or a cockroach infestation which makes the unit unlivable but isn't an essential service, then the landlord has 14 days after notice to make reasonable/best efforts to repair the problem.
In habitability cases, you still have to deposit your rent with the court. If you then get a non-payment eviction, you have to go to court and explain that you didn't pay the landlord because they didn't fix the problem. Then the court holds the landlord accountable, not releasing the rent money until the fix is complete.
The Civil Law Self Help Center has an office on the first floor at the Regional Justice Center with a bilingual staff, as well as a website to help guide tenants who can't afford a lawyer and want to file with the court themselves.
LACSN can also help guide and support tenants through the process.
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