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Tenant rights: How to hold Nevada landlords accountable

Posted at 5:46 PM, Dec 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-21 21:51:39-05

Nevada provides tenants, such as apartment renters, many rights and protections.

You can review what the law says here.

State law breaks down rights into some key categories. Experts in the field of tenant law say the most common complaint topics are essential services and habitability issues.

Essential services are considered, hot and cold water, heating, air conditioning, and electricity.

Habitability issues include items such as, non-working plumbing, leaking roofs, mold, and bed bugs, among others.

"A landlord has 48 hours to fix or use their reasonable best efforts to fix the issue," said Lauren Peña, Directing Attorney for the Civil Law Self Help Center.

Peña says the first step is to act quickly as soon as a problem arises and notify the landlord in writing. That will start the clock to get repairs done.

If the landlord fails to make repairs within 48, excluding weekends and holidays, tenants have additional rights.

"They can withhold rent entirely, a tenant can sue the landlord for damages, or a tenant can also obtain other housing and rent stops at that time," added Peña.

To get help navigate the process, tenants are encouraged to visit the Civil Law Self Help Center.

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