REQUIRES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE (§ 2)
S.B. 261
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SENATE BILL NO. 261–SENATORS DOÑATE, KRASNER,
STONE, HANSEN; DALY AND NGUYEN
MARCH 3, 2025
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JOINT SPONSOR: ASSEMBLYMEMBER GALLANT
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Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to housing. (BDR 3-581)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§ 2)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to housing; authorizing certain persons to file a
complaint to request that a sheriff remove an unlawful or
unauthorized occupant of a dwelling on the real property
of the person; requiring the Administrator of the Housing
Division of the Department of Business and Industry to
prescribe by regulation a form to authorize a local law
enforcement agency to enter certain properties that are
listed for sale when a person forcibly enters or detains
such a property; authorizing a sheriff to collect certain
fees for serving a notice to vacate and for performing
certain other actions; revising the crime of forcible
detainer; providing penalties; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law sets forth certain procedures for the removal of a person who is 1
guilty of forcible entry or forcible detainer. (NRS 40.230, 40.240, 40.414) Under 2
this process, the owner of the real property, an authorized representative of the 3
owner or the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the 4
real property is required to serve a notice to surrender on an unlawful or 5
unauthorized occupant who committed the forcible entry or forcible detainer. After 6
a notice to surrender is served, the unlawful or unauthorized occupant is required 7
to: (1) surrender the real property; (2) request that a court stay the execution of a 8
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summary order for removal; or (3) contest the matter by filing, within a certain 9
period of time, an affidavit with the court. After the notice to surrender has expired, 10
the owner of the real property or authorized representative or occupant may apply 11
by affidavit of complaint for eviction to the court, which may, upon review of the 12
affidavits or upon a hearing, take certain actions including ordering the removal of 13
the unlawful or unauthorized occupant. (NRS 40.414) 14
In lieu of following this procedure, section 2 of this bill authorizes an owner of 15
real property, an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is 16
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property to submit a written 17
complaint to request that the sheriff remove an unlawful or unauthorized occupant 18
who forcibly enters or detains a dwelling on the property of the owner if: (1) the 19
real property was not open to the public at the time the forcible entry or detainer 20
occurred or the owner of the real property or authorized representative or occupant 21
directed the unlawful or unauthorized occupant to surrender the real property; (2) 22
the unlawful or unauthorized occupant is not the current or former tenant of the 23
dwelling, an owner or co-owner of the real property and is not listed on the title, 24
and is not an immediate family member of the owner of the real property; and (3) 25
there is no pending litigation related to the real property between the owner of the 26
real property and the unlawful or unauthorized occupant. Section 2 prescribes the 27
form of such a complaint and requires the sheriff to verify the complaint. After 28
the sheriff verifies the complaint, the sheriff is required to serve a notice to vacate 29
and perform certain other acts. Section 2 authorizes a sheriff to charge certain fees 30
for: (1) serving such a notice; and (2) at the request of the owner of the real 31
property, remaining at the real property while the owner of the real property 32
performs certain actions to regain possession of the real property. A person who 33
submits a false statement or claim made on a form completed pursuant to section 2 34
is guilty of perjury, which is a category D felony. (NRS 199.120) 35
Existing law provides that a person is guilty of forcible detainer if the person: 36
(1) unlawfully holds and keeps the possession of any real property by force or 37
threats of violence; or (2) enters real property without the authority of certain 38
persons and who, after receiving notice to surrender, fails to surrender the property. 39
(NRS 40.240) Section 6 of this bill provides that a person who fails to surrender 40
any real property after receiving notice to vacate pursuant to section 2 is also guilty 41
of forcible detainer. 42
Section 3 of this bill requires the Administrator of the Housing Division of the 43
Department of Business and Industry to prescribe by regulation the content of and 44
instructions for completing a form for a seller of certain real property to authorize a 45
local law enforcement agency to enter the real property if a person has forcibly 46
entered or detained a dwelling on the real property. The Administrator must provide 47
the form to title companies, real estate brokers and real estate salespersons in this 48
State for distribution to sellers of real property. Section 3 authorizes the 49
Administrator to consult with sheriffs and local law enforcement officials in this 50
State regarding the contents of the form. Additionally, section 3 authorizes a local 51
law enforcement agency to distribute the form at any time. 52
Section 4 of this bill applies the definitions in existing law governing summary 53
proceedings for obtaining possession of real property to the provisions of sections 2 54
and 3. 55
Sections 5 and 6 of this bill make conforming changes to authorize certain 56
persons to use the procedure set forth in section 2, in lieu of the procedures set 57
forth in existing law, for the removal of a person who is guilty of forcible entry and 58
forcible detainer. 59
Section 7 of this bill makes a conforming change to authorize a sheriff to 60
collect certain fees under section 2. 61
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 40 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 and 3 of this act. 2
Sec. 2. 1. In lieu of the remedy provided in NRS 40.290 to 3
40.420, inclusive, when a person is guilty of forcible entry or 4
forcible detainer of a dwelling on real property, the owner of the 5
real property, an authorized representative of the owner or the 6
occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of 7
the real property may seek to recover possession of the dwelling by 8
submitting a written complaint on the form prescribed by 9
subsection 2 to request that the sheriff of the county in which the 10
real property at issue is located remove the unlawful or 11
unauthorized occupant if: 12
(a) The real property was not open to the public at the time the 13
forcible entry or forcible detainer occurred; 14
(b) The owner of the real property, or an authorized 15
representative of the owner or the occupant who is authorized by 16
the owner to be in possession of the real property directed the 17
unlawful or unauthorized occupant who forcibly entered or 18
detained the real property to surrender the real property; 19
(c) The unlawful or unauthorized occupant is not: 20
(1) The current or former tenant of the dwelling on the real 21
property; 22
(2) An owner or a co-owner of the real property and is not 23
listed on the title to the real property, unless the unlawful or 24
unauthorized occupant has engaged in title fraud; or 25
(3) An immediate family member of the owner of the real 26
property; and 27
(d) There is no pending litigation related to the real property 28
between the owner of the real property and the unlawful or 29
unauthorized occupant, if the identity of the unlawful or 30
unauthorized occupant is known. 31
2. A complaint made pursuant to subsection 1 must be in 32
substantially the following form: 33
34
COMPLAINT TO REMOVE PERSON WHO FORCIBLY 35
ENTERED OR DETAINED DWELLING 36
37
I, the owner of the real property or the authorized 38
representative of the owner or the occupant who is 39
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real 40
property located at .........., declare under the penalty of 41
perjury that: 42
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1. .......... I am the owner of the real property or the 1
authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who 2
is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real 3
property. 4
2. .......... I purchased the property on .........., or I 5
became the authorized representative of the owner or an 6
occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession 7
of the real property on .......... 8
3. .......... The real property contains a dwelling. 9
4. .......... An unlawful or unauthorized occupant 10
forcibly entered or detained the dwelling and continues to 11
occupy the real property. 12
5. .......... The real property was not open to the public 13
at the time the forcible entry or detainer occurred. 14
6. .......... I directed the unlawful or unauthorized 15
occupant to surrender the real property and the unlawful or 16
unauthorized occupant has not surrendered the real 17
property. 18
7. .......... The unlawful or unauthorized occupant is not 19
a current or former tenant of the dwelling on the real 20
property. 21
8. .......... The unlawful or unauthorized occupant is not 22
an owner or a co-owner of the real property and is not listed 23
on the title to the real property, unless the unlawful or 24
unauthorized occupant has engaged in title fraud. 25
9. .......... The unlawful or unauthorized occupant is not 26
an immediate family member of the owner of the real 27
property. 28
10. .......... There is no pending litigation related to the 29
real property between the owner of the real property and the 30
unlawful or unauthorized occupant, if the identity of 31
the unlawful or unauthorized occupant is known. 32
11. .......... I understand that a person or persons 33
removed from the real property pursuant to this procedure 34
may bring a cause of action against me for any false 35
statements made in this complaint or for unlawfully using 36
this procedure and that as a result of such action, I may be 37
held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs and 38
reasonable attorney’s fees. 39
12. .......... I am requesting the sheriff remove the 40
unlawful or unauthorized occupant from the real property. 41
13. .......... A copy of my valid government-issued 42
identification card is attached and, if I am the authorized 43
representative of the owner or the occupant who is 44
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real 45
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property, documents evidencing my authority to act on 1
behalf of the owner of the real property are attached. 2
3
I HAVE READ AND INITIALED EV ERY STATEMENT 4
IN THIS PETITION AND EACH STATEMENT IS TRUE 5
AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE 6
STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS PETITION ARE BEING 7
MADE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, WHICH IS 8
PUNISHABLE AS A CATEGORY D FELONY AS 9
PROVIDED IN NRS 199.120. 10
11
......................................................................... 12
Signature of the owner of the real property or an authorized 13
representative of the owner or the occupant who is 14
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real 15
property 16
17
3. When a sheriff receives a completed complaint made 18
pursuant to subsection 1, the sheriff shall verify that the person 19
who submitted the complaint is the owner of the real property or 20
an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is 21
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property 22
and that the petition satisfies the other requirements of this 23
section. After the sheriff verifies the complaint, the sheriff shall 24
serve a notice to vacate on the unlawful or unauthorized occupant 25
and return possession of the real property to the owner of the real 26
property. Service may be made by hand-delivering the notice to an 27
unlawful or unauthorized occupant or by posting the notice on the 28
front door or entrance of the dwelling. While serving the notice, 29
the sheriff shall take reasonable steps to verify the identity of each 30
person occupying the dwelling and make a note of each identity on 31
the return of service. If appropriate, the sheriff may arrest any 32
person found in the dwelling for trespass, outstanding warrants or 33
any other legal cause. 34
4. The sheriff may collect the same fee for service of the 35
notice to vacate as if the sheriff were serving a writ of possession 36
or restitution under NRS 248.275. 37
5. After the sheriff serves the notice to vacate, the owner of 38
the real property or an authorized representative of the owner or 39
the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession 40
of the real property may request that the sheriff remain at the real 41
property to keep the peace while the owner of the real property or 42
an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is 43
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property 44
changes the locks or removes the personal property of the 45
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unlawful or unauthorized occupant from the premises. If the 1
sheriff remains at the request of the owner of the real property or 2
an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is 3
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property, 4
the sheriff may charge a reasonable hourly rate, and the person 5
requesting that the sheriff remain shall pay the reasonable hourly 6
rate of the sheriff. 7
6. Any fees collected pursuant to this section must be 8
accounted for as provided in subsection 6 of NRS 248.275. 9
7. The sheriff is not liable to the unlawful or unauthorized 10
occupant or any other person for loss, destruction or damage of 11
property. 12
8. The owner of the real property or an authorized 13
representative of the owner or the occupant who is authorized by 14
the owner to be in possession of the real property is not liable to 15
the unlawful or unauthorized occupant or any other person for 16
loss, destruction or damage of property. 17
9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the rights 18
of an owner of real property or the authority of a sheriff to 19
perform his or her duties. 20
Sec. 3. 1. The Administrator of the Housing Division of the 21
Department of Business and Industry shall prescribe by regulation 22
the content of and instructions for completing a form that a seller 23
of real property may use to authorize a local law enforcement 24
agency to enter if a person has forcibly entered or detained a 25
dwelling on the real property. The form must include instructions 26
for the submission of a completed form to the appropriate local 27
law enforcement agency. If a seller submits a completed form to 28
the local law enforcement agency, the local law enforcement 29
agency may enter the dwelling and notify the person that he or she 30
must surrender the property in accordance with the provisions of 31
NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, and section 1 of this act, as 32
applicable. 33
2. The Administrator may consult with sheriffs and other 34
local law enforcement officials in this State regarding the contents 35
of the form described in subsection 1. 36
3. The Administrator shall: 37
(a) Distribute copies of the form to local law enforcement 38
agencies in this State; and 39
(b) Make copies available for title companies, real estate 40
brokers and real estate salespersons in this State. 41
4. A title company, real estate broker or real estate 42
salesperson shall distribute the form prescribed by the 43
Administrator pursuant to subsection 1 at the time a parcel of real 44
property is listed for sale. 45
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5. A local law enforcement agency may distribute the form 1
prescribed by the Administrator pursuant to subsection 1 at any 2
time. 3
6. As used in this section, “local law enforcement agency” 4
means: 5
(a) The sheriff’s office of a county; 6
(b) A metropolitan police department; or 7
(c) A police department of an incorporated city. 8
Sec. 4. NRS 40.215 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9
40.215 As used in NRS 40.215 to 40.425, inclusive, and 10
sections 2 and 3 of this act, unless the context requires otherwise: 11
1. “Dwelling” or “dwelling unit” means a structure or part 12
thereof that is occupied, or designed or intended for occupancy, as a 13
residence or sleeping place by one person who maintains a 14
household or by two or more persons who maintain a common 15
household. 16
2. “Landlord’s agent” means a person who is hired or 17
authorized by the landlord or owner of real property to manage the 18
property or dwelling unit, to enter into a rental agreement on behalf 19
of the landlord or owner of the property or who serves as a person 20
within this State who is authorized to act for and on behalf of the 21
landlord or owner for the purposes of service of process or receiving 22
notices and demands. A landlord’s agent may also include a 23
successor landlord or a property manager as defined in 24
NRS 645.0195. 25
3. “Mobile home” means every vehicle, including equipment, 26
which is constructed, reconstructed or added to in such a way as to 27
have an enclosed room or addition occupied by one or more persons 28
as a residence or sleeping place and which has no foundation other 29
than wheels, jacks, skirting or other temporary support. 30
4. “Mobile home lot” means a portion of land within a mobile 31
home park which is rented or held out for rent to accommodate a 32
mobile home. 33
5. “Mobile home park” or “park” means an area or tract of land 34
where two or more mobile homes or mobile home lots are rented or 35
held out for rent. “Mobile home park” or “park” does not include 36
those areas or tracts of land, whether within or outside of a park, 37
where the lots are held out for rent on a nightly basis. 38
6. “Premises” includes a mobile home. 39
7. “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular structure primarily 40
designed as temporary living quarters for travel, recreational or 41
camping use, which may be self-propelled or mounted upon or 42
drawn by a motor vehicle. 43
8. “Recreational vehicle lot” means a portion of land within a 44
recreational vehicle park, or a portion of land so designated within a 45
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mobile home park, which is rented or held out for rent to 1
accommodate a recreational vehicle overnight or for less than 3 2
months. 3
9. “Recreational vehicle park” means an area or tract of land 4
where lots are rented or held out for rent to accommodate a 5
recreational vehicle overnight or for less than 3 months. 6
10. “Short-term tenancy” means a tenancy in which rent is 7
reserved by a period of 1 week and the tenancy has not continued 8
for more than 45 days. 9
Sec. 5. NRS 40.230 is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
40.230 1. Every person is guilty of a forcible entry who 11
unlawfully enters any real property: 12
(a) By means of physical force resulting in damage to a structure 13
on the real property; 14
(b) By any kind of violence or circumstance of terror; or 15
(c) Peaceably or otherwise and: 16
(1) Thereafter prevents the owner of the real property from 17
access or occupancy of the property by changing a lock; or 18
(2) Turns out by force, threats of violence or menacing 19
conduct, the owner of the real property or an occupant who is 20
authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property. 21
2. [The] Except as otherwise provided in section 2 of this act, 22
the owner of the real property, an authorized representative of the 23
owner or the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in 24
possession of the real property may seek to recover possession of 25
the property pursuant to NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, after the 26
expiration of the notice to surrender served by the owner, authorized 27
representative of the owner or authorized occupant upon the person 28
who committed the forcible entry. The notice must: 29
(a) Inform the person who committed the forcible entry that he 30
or she is guilty of forcible entry; and 31
(b) Afford the person who committed the forcible entry 4 32
judicial days to surrender the property. 33
3. If an owner of real property or an authorized representative 34
of the owner recovers damages for a forcible entry, judgment may 35
be entered for three times the amount at which the actual damages 36
are assessed. As used in this section, “actual damages” means 37
damages to real property and personal property. 38
Sec. 6. NRS 40.240 is hereby amended to read as follows: 39
40.240 1. Every person is guilty of a forcible detainer who 40
either: 41
(a) Unlawfully holds and keeps the possession of any real 42
property by force or threats of violence, or whether the possession 43
was acquired peaceably or otherwise; or 44
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(b) Enters any real property without the authority of the owner 1
of the property, an authorized representative of the owner or an 2
occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the 3
real property and who, after receiving written notice to surrender 4
pursuant to subsection 2 [,] or a notice to vacate pursuant to 5
section 2 of this act, fails to surrender the property. 6
2. [The] Except as otherwise provided in section 2 of this act, 7
the owner of the real property, an authorized representative of the 8
owner or the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in 9
possession of the real property may seek to recover possession of 10
the property pursuant to NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, after the 11
expiration of the notice to surrender served by the owner or 12
authorized occupant upon the person who committed the forcible 13
detainer. The notice must: 14
(a) Inform the person who committed the forcible detainer that 15
he or she is guilty of a forcible detainer; and 16
(b) Afford the person who committed the forcible detainer 4 17
judicial days to surrender the property. 18
3. If an owner of real property or an authorized representative 19
of the owner recovers damages for a forcible detainer, judgment 20
may be entered for three times the amount at which the actual 21
damages are assessed. As used in this section, “actual damages” 22
means damages to real property and personal property. 23
Sec. 7. NRS 248.320 is hereby amended to read as follows: 24
248.320 Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 of NRS 25
482.2155 [,] and section 2 of this act, no other fees shall be charged 26
by sheriffs than those specifically set forth in this chapter, nor shall 27
fees be charged for any other services than those mentioned in this 28
chapter. 29
Sec. 8. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 30
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 31
provisions of this act. 32
Sec. 9. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 33
approval. 34
2. Sections 1, 2 and 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act become 35
effective on October 1, 2025. 36
3. Section 3 of this act becomes effective: 37
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 38
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 39
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 40
(b) On January 1, 2026, for all other purposes. 41
H