(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 17, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 201
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SENATE BILL NO. 201–SENATORS PAZINA, NEAL, FLORES,
SCHEIBLE, KRASNER; CANNIZZARO, CRUZ-CRAWFORD,
DALY, DOÑATE, DONDERO LOOP, ELLISON, LANGE,
NGUYEN, OHRENSCHALL, ROGICH, STEINBECK, STONE AND
TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 12, 2025
____________
JOINT SPONSORS: ASSEMBLYMEMBERS ROTH,
NGUYEN; AND GALLANT
____________
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Prohibits certain restrictions on the display of
religious items under certain circumstances.
(BDR 10-122)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: No.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to religious freedom; prohibiting a unit-owners’
association, a unit’s owner who rents or leases his or her
unit or a landlord from imposing certain restrictions on
the display of religious items; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the unit-owners’ association of a common-interest 1
community to adopt bylaws and authorizes an association to amend bylaws and 2
adopt rules and regulations concerning the community. (NRS 116.3102) Section 1 3
of this bill restricts, with certain exceptions, an association or unit’s owner who 4
rents or leases his or her unit from prohibiting a unit’s owner or occupant of a unit 5
from engaging in the display of religious items. Sections 1.3 and 1.7 of this bill 6
impose a similar restriction on landlords. 7
For the purposes of these restrictions, sections 1 and 1.3 define “display of 8
religious items” to mean, in general, an item or combination of items made from 9
certain materials and displayed or affixed on an entry door or doorframe of a unit or 10
dwelling, as applicable, because of sincerely held religious beliefs. 11
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 116 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 or 3, the 3
executive board of an association or a unit’s owner who rents or 4
leases his or her unit shall not and the governing documents of an 5
association or rental agreement must not prohibit a unit’s owner 6
or an occupant of a unit from engaging in the display of religious 7
items within such physical portion of the common-interest 8
community as that owner or occupant has a right to occupy and 9
use exclusively. 10
2. The provisions of this section do not: 11
(a) Apply to a display of religious items that: 12
(1) Has a total size that is greater than 36 by 12 square 13
inches or that exceeds the size of the door on which or whose 14
frame on which the display of religious items is displayed or 15
affixed; 16
(2) Threatens the health, safety or welfare of the public; 17
(3) Hinders the opening or closing of any entry door; 18
(4) Violates any federal, state or local law; 19
(5) Promotes discrimination or discriminatory beliefs; or 20
(6) Contains graphics, language or any display that is 21
obscene or otherwise illegal. 22
(b) Preclude an association or a unit’s owner who rents or 23
leases his or her unit from adopting, and do not preclude the 24
governing documents of an association or a rental agreement 25
from setting forth, rules that reasonably restrict the placement and 26
manner of the display of religious items by a unit’s owner or an 27
occupant of a unit. 28
3. An association or a unit’s owner who is performing or 29
causing to be performed any maintenance, repair or replacement 30
of an entry door or doorframe of a unit may: 31
(a) Remove a display of religious items on the entry door or 32
doorframe during the time the work is being performed in 33
accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. An association 34
or unit’s owner shall, before temporarily removing a display of 35
religious items pursuant to this paragraph, provide written notice 36
to the affected unit’s owner or occupant of the unit. If, following 37
receipt of such written notice, the unit’s owner or occupant 38
consents to the removal of the display of religious items or fails, 39
within a reasonable period, to respond to the written notice, then 40
the association or unit’s owner may temporarily remove the 41
display of religious items. After the work is completed, the 42
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association or unit’s owner shall return the display of religious 1
items to the entry door or doorframe. 2
(b) Require the unit’s owner or an occupant of the unit to 3
remove a display of religious items on the entry door or doorframe 4
during the time the work is being performed in accordance with 5
the provisions of this paragraph. An association or unit’s owner 6
shall, before requiring a unit’s owner or occupant of a unit to 7
temporarily remove a display of religious items pursuant to this 8
paragraph, provide written notice to the affected unit’s owner or 9
occupant. After the work is completed, the unit’s owner or 10
occupant must be permitted to return the display of religious items 11
to the entry door or doorframe. 12
4. In any action commenced to enforce the provisions of this 13
section, the prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable 14
attorney’s fees and costs. 15
5. As used in this section: 16
(a) “Display of religious items” means an item or combination 17
of items: 18
(1) Made of wood, metal, glass, plastic, cloth, fabric or 19
paper; and 20
(2) Displayed or affixed on any entry door or doorframe of 21
a unit because of sincerely held religious beliefs. 22
(b) “Rental agreement” means an oral or written agreement 23
between a unit’s owner and another person for the use and 24
occupancy of a unit. 25
Sec. 1.3. Chapter 118A of NRS is hereby amended by adding 26
thereto a new section to read as follows: 27
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 or 3, a 28
landlord or an agent or employee of a landlord shall not, and the 29
rental agreement must not, prohibit a tenant from engaging in 30
the display of religious items on the entry door or doorframe of the 31
dwelling. 32
2. The provisions of this section do not: 33
(a) Apply to a display of religious items that: 34
(1) Has a total size that is greater than 36 by 12 square 35
inches or that exceeds the size of the door on which or whose 36
frame on which the display of religious items is displayed or 37
affixed; 38
(2) Threatens the health, safety or welfare of the public; 39
(3) Hinders the opening or closing of any entry door; 40
(4) Violates any federal, state or local law; 41
(5) Promotes discrimination or discriminatory beliefs; or 42
(6) Contains graphics, language or any display that is 43
obscene or otherwise illegal. 44
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(b) Preclude a landlord or an agent or employee of a landlord 1
from adopting policies that reasonably restrict the placement and 2
manner of the display of religious items by a tenant. 3
3. A landlord or an agent or employee of a landlord who is 4
performing or causing to be performed any maintenance, repair or 5
replacement of an entry door or doorframe of the dwelling may: 6
(a) Remove a display of religious items on the entry door or 7
doorframe during the time the work is being performed in 8
accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. A landlord or 9
an agent or employee of a landlord shall, before temporarily 10
removing a display of religious items pursuant to this paragraph, 11
provide written notice to the tenant. If, following receipt of such 12
written notice, the tenant consents to the removal of the display of 13
religious items or fails, within a reasonable period, to respond to 14
the written notice, then the landlord or the agent or employee of 15
the landlord may temporarily remove the display of religious 16
items. After the work is completed, the landlord or the agent or 17
employee of the landlord shall return the display of religious items 18
to the entry door or doorframe. 19
(b) Require the tenant to remove a display of religious items on 20
the entry door or doorframe during the time the work is being 21
performed in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. A 22
landlord or an agent or employee of a landlord shall, before 23
requiring a tenant to temporarily remove a display of religious 24
items pursuant to this paragraph, provide written notice to the 25
tenant. After the work is completed, the tenant must be permitted 26
to return the display of religious items to the entry door or 27
doorframe. 28
4. In any action commenced to enforce the provisions of this 29
section, the prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable 30
attorney’s fees and costs. 31
5. As used in this section, “display of religious items” means 32
an item or combination of items: 33
(a) Made of wood, metal, glass, plastic, cloth, fabric or paper; 34
and 35
(b) Displayed or affixed on any entry door or doorframe of the 36
dwelling because of sincerely held religious beliefs. 37
Sec. 1.7. NRS 118A.200 is hereby amended to read as 38
follows: 39
118A.200 1. Any written agreement for the use and 40
occupancy of a dwelling unit or premises must be signed by the 41
landlord or his or her agent and the tenant or his or her agent. 42
2. The landlord shall provide one copy of any written 43
agreement described in subsection 1 to the tenant free of cost at the 44
time the agreement is executed and, upon request of the tenant, 45
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provide additional copies of any such agreement to the tenant within 1
a reasonable time. The landlord may charge a reasonable fee for 2
providing the additional copies. 3
3. Any written rental agreement must contain, but is not limited 4
to, provisions relating to the following subjects: 5
(a) Duration of the agreement. 6
(b) Amount of rent and the manner and time of its payment. 7
(c) Occupancy by children or pets. 8
(d) Services included with the dwelling rental. 9
(e) Fees which are required and the purposes for which they are 10
required. 11
(f) Deposits which are required and the conditions for their 12
refund. 13
(g) Charges which may be required for late or partial payment of 14
rent or for return of any dishonored check. 15
(h) Inspection rights of the landlord. 16
(i) A listing of persons or numbers of persons who are to occupy 17
the dwelling. 18
(j) Respective responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant as 19
to the payment of utility charges. 20
(k) A signed record of the inventory and condition of the 21
premises under the exclusive custody and control of the tenant. 22
(l) A summary of the provisions of NRS 202.470. 23
(m) Information regarding the procedure pursuant to which a 24
tenant may report to the appropriate authorities: 25
(1) A nuisance. 26
(2) A violation of a building, safety or health code or 27
regulation. 28
(n) Information regarding the right of the tenant to engage in the 29
display of the flag of the United States, as set forth in 30
NRS 118A.325. 31
(o) Information regarding the right of the tenant to engage in 32
the display of religious items, as set forth in section 1.3 of this act. 33
4. In addition to the provisions required by subsection 3, any 34
written rental agreement for a single-family residence which is not 35
signed by an authorized agent of the landlord who at the time of 36
signing holds a permit to engage in property management pursuant 37
to chapter 645 of NRS must contain a disclosure at the top of the 38
first page of the agreement, in a font size at least two times larger 39
than any other font size in the agreement, which states that: 40
(a) There are rebuttable presumptions in NRS 205.0813 and 41
205.0817 that the tenant does not have lawful occupancy of the 42
dwelling unless the agreement: 43
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(1) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the 1
landlord who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in 2
property management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and 3
(2) Includes the current address and telephone number of the 4
landlord or his or her authorized representative; and 5
(b) The agreement is valid and enforceable against the landlord 6
and the tenant regardless of whether the agreement: 7
(1) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the 8
landlord who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in 9
property management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; or 10
(2) Includes the current address and telephone number of the 11
landlord or his or her authorized representative. 12
5. The absence of a written agreement raises a disputable 13
presumption that: 14
(a) There are no restrictions on occupancy by children or pets. 15
(b) Maintenance and waste removal services are provided 16
without charge to the tenant. 17
(c) No charges for partial or late payments of rent or for 18
dishonored checks are paid by the tenant. 19
(d) Other than normal wear, the premises will be returned in the 20
same condition as when the tenancy began. 21
6. It is unlawful for a landlord or any person authorized to 22
enter into a rental agreement on his or her behalf to use any written 23
agreement which does not conform to the provisions of this section, 24
and any provision in an agreement which contravenes the provisions 25
of this section is void. 26
7. As used in this section, “single-family residence” means a 27
structure that is comprised of not more than four units. The term 28
does not include a manufactured home as defined in NRS 118B.015. 29
Sec. 2. 1. Any provision contained in the governing 30
documents of an association or in a rental agreement or policy of a 31
unit’s owner who rents or leases his or her unit or in a rental 32
agreement or policy of a landlord which is in effect on July 1, 2025, 33
and which is contrary to the provisions of this act is void and 34
unenforceable. 35
2. Any provision contained in the governing documents of an 36
association which is contrary to the provisions of this act shall be 37
deemed, as provided in subsection 1 of NRS 116.1206, to conform 38
with the provisions of this act by operation of law, and an 39
association is not required to amend the governing documents to 40
conform to the provisions of this act. 41
3. On or before October 1, 2025, each unit’s owner who rents 42
or leases his or her unit and each landlord shall review and amend 43
the policies of the unit’s owner or landlord, as applicable, as 44
necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this act. 45
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4. A unit’s owner who rents or leases his or her unit or a 1
landlord shall review any rental agreement that is in effect on July 1, 2
2025, to ensure compliance with the provisions of this act. On or 3
before the date for renewal of such a rental agreement, the unit’s 4
owner or landlord shall remove any provision of the agreement that 5
is void and unenforceable pursuant to subsection 1. 6
5. As used in this section: 7
(a) “Association” has the meaning ascribed to it in 8
NRS 116.011. 9
(b) “Executive board” has the meaning ascribed to it in 10
NRS 116.045. 11
(c) “Governing documents” has the meaning ascribed to it in 12
NRS 116.049. 13
(d) “Landlord” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 118A.100. 14
(e) “Rental agreement” means an oral or written agreement 15
between a unit’s owner and another person for the use and 16
occupancy of a unit or between a landlord and a tenant for the use 17
and occupancy of a dwelling as defined in NRS 118A.080, as 18
applicable. 19
(f) “Unit” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 116.093. 20
(g) “Unit’s owner” has the meaning ascribed to it in 21
NRS 116.095. 22
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 23
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