Breaking a Lease in Nevada: Landlord/Tenant Guide 2024

Breaking a lease in Nevada can have significant financial consequences for landlords and tenants.

Tenants without a legal reason to break their lease might be liable for damages and the remaining rent. They could also face legal proceedings and difficulties in future rentals due to negative references and affected credit scores. Conversely, landlords who terminate leases without justified cause may incur fines and be subject to countersuits.

Whether you’re a landlord or tenant, you’ll want to understand how Nevada’s code impacts your rights and responsibilities. Below, we’ll cover when it’s legal to break a lease, suggest alternative solutions, and provide legal resources.

Be better prepared to break your Nevada lease by reviewing our comprehensive guide.

Review Your Lease Before All Else

Landlords and tenants should review their lease agreements before starting the process of breaking them. While Nevada’s housing code provides legal reasons to break a lease, landlords are free to include provisions outlining fees, requirements, or early-termination clauses that could facilitate either the landlord or tenant to break the lease.

So, thoroughly reviewing your lease is vital no matter which side of the equation you’re on. Perhaps there’s an out clause in the agreement. For landlords who have not reviewed their lease in a while, if you’re facing a challenging situation with a tenant, maybe you have a reason to break it you might not have remembered.

Naturally, these considerations apply mainly to fixed-term leases of a year or longer. For month-to-month agreements, landlords and tenants can terminate most agreements with a simple 30-day notice.

Legal Reasons for Breaking a Lease in Nevada

Both landlords and tenants can legally break a lease in Nevada in qualifying circumstances. Nevada landlord-tenant law establishes how to break a lease in Nevada without penalty for the following reasons:

Landlord violates lease agreement 

Tenants whose landlords violate any of the unique terms of their lease agreement may be able to terminate their lease legally (NRS 118A.350).

Landlord fails to maintain safe and habitable living conditions

Nevada requires landlords to provide tenants with ongoing access to basic living standards such as power, heat, water, etc., and allows a tenant to break their lease if the landlord fails to make repairs within 14 days of notice (NRS 118A.380).

Intentional lockouts or essential service disruptions 

Tenants whose landlords attempt self-help evictions by changing locks or shutting off utilities can terminate their lease without penalty (NRS 118A.390).

Mental or physical disabilities

Tenants over 60 or those with physical or mental disabilities can break their lease if they need to move to access adequate care or treatment. Tenants must give the landlord 30 days’ written notice within 60 days of relocating (NRS 118A.340).

Domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking

If a tenant or their family member is experiencing or is at risk of violence or stalking, they can terminate their lease by providing 30 days’ notice and a copy of the relevant written report from a law enforcement agency (NRS 118A.345).

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

Federal law allows military servicemembers who must relocate due to military orders to break their lease early without penalty. Servicemembers who receive a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) for at least 90 days can terminate their current lease agreement with 30 days’ notice (SCRA).

Significant damage to the rental unit

Both landlords and tenants can terminate a lease if the rental unit is damaged via fire or other casualty in a way that “significantly impairs the enjoyment of the rental unit” (NRS 118A.400).

Tenant lease violations

Landlords can give a 5-day cure or quit eviction notice to tenants who violate the terms of their lease agreement (NRS 118A.430).

Tenant failure to pay rent

Landlords can issue a seven-day notice to pay rent or vacate to tenants who fail to pay by the deadline (NRS 40.253).

Breaking a Lease Without Legal Justification

Common reasons that tenants may want to break their lease early but don’t have legal justification to do so in Nevada include:

• Moving due to job relocation
• Personal reasons (relationships or family matters)
• Income changes that make paying rent difficult
• Moving for medical reasons

While tenants often feel they should be able to move in such cases, they may face consequences if they do. Only the reasons highlighted in the previous section are valid legal justifications for breaking a lease in Nevada.

In most cases, landlords must follow Nevada eviction laws to break a lease early. It is illegal for landlords to break a lease early for reasons such as:

• Wanting to rent the unit at a higher price.
• Retaliation against legally protected actions taken by tenants.
• Selling the rental unit.

Both landlords and tenants are usually better off if they can agree to avoid contentious lease-breaking. Common amicable solutions include:

• Negotiating: Rather than going through the courts, a simple conversation may allow landlords and tenants to find a solution that works for both parties.
• Cash-for-keys settlement: Landlords may want to offer a financial incentive for tenants to move out early or as an alternative to filing an eviction suit.
• Finding a new tenant: Tenants can find someone to sublet the rental unit for the remainder of the lease term. However, Nevada requires landlords to make reasonable efforts to fill a broken lease, even if the tenant moves out without finding someone to take over the lease agreement.

Consequences of Tenants Breaking a Lease in Nevada

Breaking a lease in Nevada without legal justification can result in significant financial impacts and legal complications for tenants that include:

• Owing additional rent and damages: While Nevada requires landlords to make reasonable efforts to fill vacancies, tenants who break their lease are financially responsible for any rent owed during the gap period.
• Losing security deposit: Nevada allows landlords to withhold unpaid rent from their tenant’s security deposit.
• Credit score damage: Unpaid rent or fines sent to collections can lower a tenant’s credit score, making it harder to secure future rental housing.
• Civil lawsuits: Landlords can sue tenants who break their lease without legal justification.

Landlord/Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

Nevada landlord-tenant law establishes regulations for landlords and tenants that must be followed when breaking a lease. Failure to do so can incur additional fines or open an individual to facing civil lawsuits. Furthermore, these laws outline the rights that both parties are entitled to. Here are the most important rights and responsibilities when it comes to lease-breaking:

Landlords Have the Right to:

• Evict tenants who fail to pay rent, violate their lease, or for other legally valid reasons. 
• Recoup actual damages from tenants who break the lease for the time it takes to find a new tenant.
• Withhold security deposit funds from damage to the rental unit or any unpaid rent.
• Charge late fees of up to 5% of one month’s rent after a mandatory 3-day grace period (NRS 118A.242).

Landlords are Responsible for:

• Maintaining the living conditions in the rental unit to satisfy all of Nevada’s requirements. Otherwise, tenants may be able to break their lease (NRS 118A.290).
• Making reasonable efforts to find a new tenant if the current tenant abandons their lease (NRS 118.175).
• Returning security deposits within 30 days of the termination of tenancy (NRS 118A.242). 
• Storing abandoned tenant possessions for 30 days and providing written notice (NRS 118A.460).

Tenants Have the Right to:

• Legally break their lease if they meet one of the qualifying conditions in Nevada. 
• Receive their security deposit within 30 days of moving out.
• Withhold rent if their landlord fails to make necessary repairs within 14 days of notice (NRS 118A.355).

Tenants are Responsible for:

• Paying rent within the 3-day grace period (NRS 118A.210).
• Maintaining all basic obligations of tenancy as outlined in Nevada code (NRS 118A.310).
• Complying with eviction notices if in violation of the lease agreement.
• Claiming any leftover possessions within 30 days of moving out.

Legal Help for Landlords and Tenants

Nevada landlords and tenants in need of additional resources or legal services should visit the following resources:

• State Bar of Nevada LRS: Lawyer referral service that guides individuals to appropriate legal counsel and provides low-cost consultations.
• Nevada Legal Services: Free legal services for qualifying low-income Nevadans.
• Nevada State Court: Website for everything related to Nevada law, with self-help guides, free forms, and comprehensive lists of legal resources, programs, and services.

Avoid Lease Breaking with TurboTenant

TurboTenant’s property management software can help landlords prevent broken leases in several ways:

• Create Nevada-specific lease agreements that comply with all local regulations. If you want to outline permitted lease-breaking situations, we make it easy to include an early termination clause.
• Quickly gather rental applications and efficiently screen tenants using our linked tenant screening reports. They’re designed to help you quickly find the most reliable candidates who are less likely to break their leases.
• Simplify the headache of repairs and maintenance with TurboTenant’s in-house maintenance team.

Sign up for a TurboTenant account for free today. Our team is here to help you better protect your rental investments.

Breaking a Lease in Nevada FAQs