S.B. 236
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SENATE BILL NO. 236–SENATORS STONE,
ELLISON, KRASNER AND BUCK
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
____________
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to real property.
(BDR 3-222)
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 real property; defining the terms “squatter” and
“tenant” for certain purposes relating to summary
proceedings for obtaining possession of real property, a
recreational vehicle or a mobile home; reducing the
period for seeking reentry of a dwelling and the return of
personal property contained therein under certain
circumstances; revising provisions governing the crime of
unlawful occupancy; providing a penalty; and providing
other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law makes it a crime to engage in housebreaking or unlawful 1
occupancy. (NRS 205.0813, 205.0817) Existing law also sets forth a procedure by 2
which: (1) an owner of a dwelling that is the object of a housebreaking or unlawful 3
occupancy may immediately retake possession and change the locks on the 4
dwelling; and (2) an unlawful or unauthorized occupant who has been locked out of 5
such a dwelling may seek reentry. (NRS 40.412, 40.416) 6
Section 1 of this bill defines the terms “squatter” and “tenant” for certain 7
purposes relating to summary proceedings for obtaining possession of real property, 8
a recreational vehicle or a mobile home and clarifies that a squatter is not a tenant 9
for such purposes. Section 2 of this bill reduces the period for which: (1) an 10
unlawful or unauthorized occupant who has been locked out of a dwelling has a 11
right to contest the matter by filing a verified complaint seeking reentry; and (2) the 12
owner of the dwelling is required to store the personal property of the unlawful or 13
unauthorized occupant. Section 3 of this bill clarifies the process by which an 14
unlawful or unauthorized occupant who has been locked out may seek the return of 15
his or her personal property. Section 4 of this bill expands the crime of unlawful 16
occupancy to make it unlawful to take up residence in a dwelling, regardless of 17
whether it is uninhabited or vacant, if a person knows or has reason to believe that 18
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such residency is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized 19
representative of the owner. 20
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 40.215 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
40.215 As used in NRS 40.215 to 40.425, inclusive, unless the 2
context requires otherwise: 3
1. “Dwelling” or “dwelling unit” means a structure or part 4
thereof that is occupied, or designed or intended for occupancy, as a 5
residence or sleeping place by one person who maintains a 6
household or by two or more persons who maintain a common 7
household. 8
2. “Landlord’s agent” means a person who is hired or 9
authorized by the landlord or owner of real property to manage the 10
property or dwelling unit, to enter into a rental agreement on behalf 11
of the landlord or owner of the property or who serves as a person 12
within this State who is authorized to act for and on behalf of the 13
landlord or owner for the purposes of service of process or receiving 14
notices and demands. A landlord’s agent may also include a 15
successor landlord or a property manager as defined in 16
NRS 645.0195. 17
3. “Mobile home” means every vehicle, including equipment, 18
which is constructed, reconstructed or added to in such a way as to 19
have an enclosed room or addition occupied by one or more persons 20
as a residence or sleeping place and which has no foundation other 21
than wheels, jacks, skirting or other temporary support. 22
4. “Mobile home lot” means a portion of land within a mobile 23
home park which is rented or held out for rent to accommodate a 24
mobile home. 25
5. “Mobile home park” or “park” means an area or tract of land 26
where two or more mobile homes or mobile home lots are rented or 27
held out for rent. “Mobile home park” or “park” does not include 28
those areas or tracts of land, whether within or outside of a park, 29
where the lots are held out for rent on a nightly basis. 30
6. “Premises” includes a mobile home. 31
7. “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular structure primarily 32
designed as temporary living quarters for travel, recreational or 33
camping use, which may be self-propelled or mounted upon or 34
drawn by a motor vehicle. 35
8. “Recreational vehicle lot” means a portion of land within a 36
recreational vehicle park, or a portion of land so designated within a 37
mobile home park, which is rented or held out for rent to 38
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accommodate a recreational vehicle overnight or for less than 3 1
months. 2
9. “Recreational vehicle park” means an area or tract of land 3
where lots are rented or held out for rent to accommodate a 4
recreational vehicle overnight or for less than 3 months. 5
10. “Short-term tenancy” means a tenancy in which rent is 6
reserved by a period of 1 week and the tenancy has not continued 7
for more than 45 days. 8
11. “Squatter” means a person who violates the provisions of 9
NRS 205.0813 or 205.0817. Notwithstanding any other provision 10
of law, the term includes, without limitation, a person who enters 11
onto or intrudes upon real property without the permission of the 12
owner and continues to occupy the property without title, right or 13
permission of the owner or an authorized representative of the 14
owner. 15
12. “Tenant” means an occupant of real property, a dwelling 16
or dwelling unit or a recreational vehicle or mobile home. The 17
term does not include a squatter. 18
Sec. 2. NRS 40.412 is hereby amended to read as follows: 19
40.412 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, in 20
addition to the remedy provided in NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, 21
when all known unlawful or unauthorized adult occupants of a 22
dwelling have been arrested for housebreaking or unlawful 23
occupancy and all minor occupants are taken into the custody of the 24
State, the owner of the dwelling may retake possession and change 25
the locks on the dwelling. 26
2. At the time an owner of a dwelling retakes possession or 27
changes the locks of a dwelling pursuant to subsection 1, the owner 28
or an authorized representative of the owner shall post a written 29
notice on the dwelling. The notice must: 30
(a) Identify the address of the dwelling; 31
(b) Identify the court that has jurisdiction over any matter 32
relating to the dwelling; 33
(c) Identify the date on which the owner took possession of the 34
dwelling pursuant to subsection 1 or changed the locks; and 35
(d) Advise the unlawful or unauthorized occupant that: 36
(1) One or more locks on the dwelling have been changed as 37
the result of an arrest for housebreaking or unlawful occupancy. 38
(2) The unlawful or unauthorized occupant has the right to 39
contest the matter by filing a verified complaint for reentry with the 40
court pursuant to NRS 40.416 within [21] 5 calendar days after the 41
date indicated in paragraph (c). The complaint must be served upon 42
the owner of the dwelling or the authorized representative of the 43
owner at the address provided to the court with the filing of the 44
written notice pursuant to subsection 3. 45
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(3) Reentry of the property without a court order is a criminal 1
offense [,] punishable [by up to 4 years in prison.] pursuant to 2
NRS 205.082. 3
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the 4
owner of the dwelling shall provide safe storage of any personal 5
property which remains on the property. The owner may dispose of 6
any personal property which remains on the property after [21] 5 7
calendar days from the date indicated in paragraph (c) unless within 8
that time the owner receives an affidavit or notice of hearing 9
pursuant to NRS [40.414.] 40.416. The unlawful or unauthorized 10
occupant may recover his or her personal property by filing an 11
affidavit with the court pursuant to NRS [40.414] 40.416 within [21] 12
5 calendar days after the date indicated in paragraph (c). The owner 13
is entitled to payment of the reasonable and actual costs of 14
inventory, moving and storage before releasing the personal 15
property to the occupant. 16
3. The notice posted pursuant to subsection 2 must remain 17
posted on the dwelling for not less than [21] 5 calendar days. A 18
copy of the notice must be filed with the court not later than 1 day 19
after any locks are changed on the dwelling and must be 20
accompanied by a statement which includes an address for service 21
of any documents on the owner of the dwelling or an authorized 22
representative of the owner. 23
4. This section does not apply if one or more unlawful or 24
unauthorized occupants is occupying the dwelling. 25
5. As used in this section: 26
(a) “Housebreaking” has the meaning ascribed to it in 27
NRS 205.0813. 28
(b) “Unlawful occupancy” has the meaning ascribed to it in 29
NRS 205.0817. 30
Sec. 3. NRS 40.416 is hereby amended to read as follows: 31
40.416 1. If the owner of a dwelling or an authorized 32
representative of the owner locks an occupant out of the dwelling 33
pursuant to NRS 40.412, the occupant may recover possession of 34
the dwelling and his or her personal property as provided in this 35
section. 36
2. The occupant must file with the justice court of the township 37
in which the dwelling is located a verified complaint for reentry, 38
specifying: 39
(a) The facts of the lockout by the owner of the dwelling or the 40
authorized representative of the owner; and 41
(b) The legal basis upon which reentry into the dwelling is 42
warranted. 43
3. The court shall, after notice to both parties, hold a trial on 44
the occupant’s verified complaint for reentry not later than 10 45
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judicial days after the date on which the occupant files the verified 1
complaint for reentry. 2
4. If the court finds that an unjustified lockout has occurred, 3
the court must issue a writ of restitution, restoring possession of the 4
dwelling and any personal property to the occupant. 5
5. A party may appeal from the court’s judgment at the trial on 6
the verified complaint for reentry in the same manner as a party may 7
appeal a judgment in an action for forcible detainer. 8
6. If the owner of the dwelling or the person on whom a writ of 9
restitution is served fails to immediately comply with the writ or 10
later disobeys the writ, the failure is grounds for contempt of court 11
against the owner or the person on whom the writ was served, under 12
chapter 22 of NRS. 13
7. This section does not affect: 14
(a) The right of any party to pursue a separate cause of action 15
under this chapter or chapter 118A of NRS if the court finds that a 16
landlord and tenant relationship exists between the parties; or 17
(b) The rights of an owner or occupant in a forcible detainer, 18
unlawful detainer or forcible entry and detainer action. 19
Sec. 4. NRS 205.0817 is hereby amended to read as follows: 20
205.0817 1. A person who takes up residence in [an 21
uninhabited or vacant] a dwelling and knows or has reason to 22
believe that such residency is without permission of the owner of the 23
dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner is guilty of 24
unlawful occupancy. 25
2. A person is presumed to know that the residency described 26
in subsection 1 is without the permission of the owner of the 27
dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner unless the 28
person provides a written rental agreement that: 29
(a) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the owner 30
who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in property 31
management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and 32
(b) Includes the current address and telephone number of the 33
owner or his or her authorized representative. 34
3. A person convicted of unlawful occupancy is guilty of a 35
gross misdemeanor. A person convicted of unlawful occupancy and 36
who has been convicted three or more times of unlawful occupancy 37
is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in 38
NRS 193.130. 39
4. A person who is accused of unlawful occupancy pursuant to 40
subsection 1 and has previously been convicted two times of 41
housebreaking, unlawful occupancy or any lesser included or related 42
offense, or any combination thereof, arising from the same set of 43
facts is presumed to have obtained residency of the dwelling with 44
the knowledge that: 45
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(a) Any asserted lease is invalid; and 1
(b) Neither the owner nor an authorized representative of the 2
owner permitted the residency. 3
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