What is a landlord? The owner of a rented home, or whoever is authorized to act for the owner, who provides a dwelling under a rental agreement and carries the duties state law attaches to it.
A landlord is whoever provides a dwelling for somebody else to live in under a rental agreement. Nevada defines it that plainly at NRS 118A.100: a person who provides a dwelling unit for occupancy by another pursuant to a rental agreement. Nothing about that turns on the size of the operation. An owner renting the house they used to live in is a landlord on the same terms as a company holding four hundred units, and the agreement that creates the relationship can be oral, since NRS 118A.160 counts any oral or written agreement for the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit.
The title comes with a list of duties that a lease cannot write away. Keep the home habitable for the whole tenancy, which NRS 118A.290 spells out as waterproofing, plumbing, running and hot water, heat, electrical, garbage receptacles, sanitation, a sound structure and ventilation. Give 24 hours' notice before entering at a reasonable time, except in an emergency, under NRS 118A.330. Hold the deposit and any surety bond to three months' periodic rent, and return it or deliver an itemized statement of deductions within 30 days after the tenancy ends, under NRS 118A.242. And disclose in writing at or before the start of the tenancy, under NRS 118A.260, the name and address of the people authorized to manage the premises, a person in Nevada authorized to receive service of process and notices, and the principal or corporate owner, plus a telephone number for a responsible person who lives in the county or within 60 miles for emergencies.
Most tenants deal with an agent rather than the owner. A property manager in Nevada holds a real estate license with a property management permit and signs, collects and repairs on the owner's behalf, and under NRS 118A.260 an agent who fails to make the disclosure becomes the party who can be served and who owes the landlord's obligations. The last duty is the one people learn about the hard way: NRS 118A.480 lets a landlord recover possession only through a court action or summary proceeding, or when the tenant surrenders or abandons the unit. Changing the locks or cutting the power to move somebody out is prohibited whoever holds the deed. This is general information rather than legal advice, and a specific dispute belongs with a Nevada attorney.
A worked example
An owner who moved to Reno rents a Henderson house for $2,050 a month and hires a licensed manager at 9 percent. The lease names the manager, gives an emergency number for someone within 60 miles, and discloses the corporate owner, which is the NRS 118A.260 list. The deposit is $2,050, inside the three months NRS 118A.242 allows, and when the tenancy ends the itemized statement and the balance go out within 30 days. In August the air conditioning fails; the tenant gives written notice and under NRS 118A.380 the landlord has 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, to remedy or use best efforts.
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Questions people ask
Is a property manager the same as a landlord?
No. The landlord is the owner or whoever provides the unit under the rental agreement; the manager is the owner's agent, licensed in Nevada with a property management permit. Under NRS 118A.260 an agent who fails to disclose the owner can be served and can be held to the landlord's obligations, but the owner's liability does not disappear.
What can a landlord not do in Nevada?
Enter without 24 hours' notice except in an emergency, keep a deposit past 30 days without an itemized statement, hold more than three months' rent in deposit and surety bond, retaliate for a good-faith code complaint, or take possession by changing locks or cutting utilities. NRS 118A.480 leaves a court action as the only route to possession.