S.B. 202
- *SB202*
SENATE BILL NO. 202–SENATOR ELLISON
FEBRUARY 12, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to housebreaking and
unlawful occupancy. (BDR 15-729)
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 crimes; making it unlawful to procure or offer a
false or forged written rental agreement for purposes of
committing the crime of housebreaking or unlawful
occupancy; providing penalties; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Under existing law, a person commits the crime of housebreaking if the person 1
forcibly enters an uninhabited or vacant dwelling with the intent to take up 2
residence or provide residency to another and knows or has reason to believe that 3
such residency is without the permission of the owner of the dwelling or an 4
authorized representative of the owner. (NRS 205.0813) Under existing law, a 5
person commits the crime of unlawful occupancy if the person takes up residence in 6
an uninhabited or vacant dwelling and knows or has reason to believe that such 7
residency is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized 8
representative of the owner. (NRS 205.0817) This bill makes it unlawful to 9
intentionally procure or offer a false or forged written rental agreement for 10
purposes of committing the crime of housebreaking or unlawful occupancy. 11
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 205.0813 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
205.0813 1. A person who forcibly enters an uninhabited or 3
vacant dwelling, who knows or has reason to believe that such entry 4
is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized 5
representative of the owner or who intentionally procures or offers 6
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a false or forged rental agreement, and who has the intent to take 1
up residence or provide a residency to another therein is guilty of 2
housebreaking. 3
2. A person is presumed to know that an entry described in 4
subsection 1 is without the permission of the owner of the dwelling 5
or an authorized representative of the owner unless the person 6
provides a written rental agreement that: 7
(a) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the owner 8
who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in property 9
management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and 10
(b) Includes the current address and telephone number of the 11
owner or his or her authorized representative. 12
3. A person convicted of housebreaking is guilty of: 13
(a) For a first offense, a gross misdemeanor; and 14
(b) For a second and any subsequent offense, a category D 15
felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130. 16
4. A person convicted of housebreaking and who has 17
previously been convicted three or more times of housebreaking 18
must not be released on probation or granted a suspension of 19
sentence. 20
5. As used in this section, “forcibly enters” means an entry 21
involving: 22
(a) Any act of physical force resulting in damage to the 23
structure; or 24
(b) The changing or manipulation of a lock to gain access. 25
Sec. 2. NRS 205.0817 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
205.0817 1. A person who takes up residence in an 27
uninhabited or vacant dwelling and who knows or has reason to 28
believe that such residency is without permission of the owner of the 29
dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner or who 30
intentionally procures or offers a false or forged written rental 31
agreement is guilty of unlawful occupancy. 32
2. A person is presumed to know that the residency described 33
in subsection 1 is without the permission of the owner of the 34
dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner unless the 35
person provides a written rental agreement that: 36
(a) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the owner 37
who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in property 38
management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and 39
(b) Includes the current address and telephone number of the 40
owner or his or her authorized representative. 41
3. A person convicted of unlawful occupancy is guilty of a 42
gross misdemeanor. A person convicted of unlawful occupancy and 43
who has been convicted three or more times of unlawful occupancy 44
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is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in 1
NRS 193.130. 2
4. A person who is accused of unlawful occupancy pursuant to 3
subsection 1 and has previously been convicted two times of 4
housebreaking, unlawful occupancy or any lesser included or related 5
offense, or any combination thereof, arising from the same set of 6
facts is presumed to have obtained residency of the dwelling with 7
the knowledge that: 8
(a) Any asserted lease is invalid; and 9
(b) Neither the owner nor an authorized representative of the 10
owner permitted the residency. 11
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 12
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