Henderson landlord-tenant rules come almost entirely from state law, chiefly Nevada’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in Chapter 118A of the Nevada Revised Statutes, and from the summary eviction process in Chapter 40, which is handled locally by Henderson Justice Court. Nevada has no rent control, but it does cap security deposits at three months’ rent and late fees at 5%, requires 60 days’ notice of a rent increase, and since October 1, 2025 has required landlords to state rent as a single all-in figure that includes mandatory fees.
This guide covers each rule an apartment owner in Henderson deals with, from lease signing to move-out, with the statutes behind them.
Who sets the rules for Henderson apartments
Henderson is Nevada’s second-largest city. The Census Bureau’s QuickFacts for Henderson estimated its population at 353,289 as of July 1, 2025, up from 317,610 in the 2020 Census. For 2020–2024, the city had 132,573 households, an owner-occupied rate of 66.1%, so roughly a third of households rent, and a median gross rent of $1,824 a month.
For an apartment owner, three layers matter:
- State statute: NRS Chapter 118A governs deposits, fees, notices, entry, repairs and the landlord’s remedies. It applies statewide, so the rules in Henderson are the same as in Las Vegas or Reno.
- Eviction procedure: NRS Chapter 40 sets the notices and timelines for removing a tenant. Cases from Henderson are heard in Henderson Justice Court.
- City requirements: the City of Henderson’s general business license rule says anyone conducting business within the city must obtain a business license. Owners should confirm with the city’s Business Licensing division how that applies to their long-term rental property.
What a Nevada lease has to cover
Before any of the money rules come into play, the lease itself has required contents. NRS 118A.200 says any written rental agreement must contain provisions on a specific list of subjects, among them:
- Term and rent: the duration of the agreement and the amount of rent, stated in the manner the statute now requires, along with when and how it is paid.
- Fees and deposits: each required fee and its purpose, each deposit and the conditions for its refund, and any charges for late or partial payment or a dishonored check.
- Occupancy: rules on children and pets, and a listing of the persons, or number of persons, who will occupy the unit.
- Services and utilities: the services included with the rental and who pays which utility charges.
- Inspection rights of the landlord.
- A signed inventory and condition record of the premises under the tenant’s exclusive control.
- Tenant rights notices: how a tenant may report a nuisance or a building, safety or health code violation, and the tenant’s rights to display the U.S. flag and religious or cultural items.
Two items on that list do practical work later. The fees provision is where AB 121’s single-figure rent requirement shows up, and the signed inventory and condition record is the owner’s best evidence when deposit deductions are disputed. An apartment operator using an older lease form should compare it against the current statute rather than assume it still complies.
Security deposits under NRS 118A.242
Nevada caps what a landlord may collect up front. A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, surety bond or combination of the two, including the last month’s rent, whose total exceeds three months’ periodic rent. On a $1,800 unit, that ceiling is $5,400.
The statute also allows a tenant, if the landlord consents, to buy a surety bond in place of all or part of the cash deposit.
Deductions and the 30-day deadline
At the end of a tenancy, the landlord may keep only amounts reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent, repair damage beyond normal wear and pay the reasonable cost of cleaning. The landlord must provide an itemized, written accounting and return the remaining balance no later than 30 days after the tenancy ends, either in person or by mail to the tenant’s present or last known address.
The 30-day deadline carries real consequences. A landlord who fails or refuses to return the balance on time is liable to the tenant for damages, so owners of larger buildings should build move-out inspections and deposit reconciliation into a fixed calendar rather than handling them as they come up.
Rent, late fees and the single-figure rule
Late fees
Under NRS 118A.210, a late fee may not exceed 5% of the periodic rent, and no late fee may be charged until at least three calendar days after the date rent is due. On a $1,800 rent, the maximum late fee is $90, and it cannot be assessed for rent due on the first until the fourth.
Rent increases
Nevada does not limit how much rent can rise. NRS 118A.300 controls timing instead: a landlord may not increase rent without serving the tenant written notice at least 60 days in advance, or 30 days in advance for a periodic tenancy shorter than one month. For an owner who plans renewal increases, that means notices for a March 1 increase must go out by around the end of December.
AB 121: rent shown as one number
Assembly Bill 121, passed in the 2025 session and effective October 1, 2025, changed how rent and fees are presented. Key requirements:
- Single-figure rent: rent must be set forth as a single figure representing the maximum total periodic rent, including any mandatory fees. Owners who used to advertise a base rent plus required add-ons now need to roll those charges into the stated rent.
- A free way to pay: the landlord must offer at least one method of paying rent with no fee, and may not charge a fee to pay through the landlord’s own website or online portal.
- Application fees: codified at NRS 118A.306, the law requires a refund of the application fee when the landlord rents the unit to someone else without screening the applicant, and bars charging application, credit report or background check fees for minors in the household. Statutory damages are $250 for each violation that involved deception.
For an apartment community with utility, trash or amenity fees, AB 121 is the rule most likely to require changes to leases, listings and the rent roll.
Access, repairs and essential services
Entering a unit
Under NRS 118A.330, except in an emergency, the landlord must give the tenant at least 24 hours’ notice of intent to enter. Maintenance teams in larger buildings should log notices so that routine inspections, pest treatments and contractor visits can be documented.
Habitability
NRS 118A.290 requires the landlord to maintain each dwelling unit in a habitable condition at all times during the tenancy. The statute lists the components that count, including effective waterproofing of the roof and exterior walls, and the section also bars landlords from charging tenants for repairs that are the landlord’s own duty. In Henderson’s desert climate, cooling and plumbing failures are the repair calls owners should treat as most urgent.
Lockouts and utility shutoffs
Self-help is expensive in Nevada. Under NRS 118A.390, if a landlord unlawfully removes or locks out a tenant, or willfully interrupts an essential item or service required by the lease or the statute, the tenant may recover immediate possession, terminate the agreement, and recover actual damages, an amount of up to $2,500 fixed by the court, or both. A tenant seeking expedited relief must file within five judicial days of the landlord’s unlawful act. The practical lesson is simple: possession is recovered only through the court process described below.
Chapter 118A also prohibits retaliating against tenants who exercise their legal rights, so a rent increase or non-renewal that follows closely on a tenant complaint should be backed by clear, documented business reasons.
Ending a tenancy without cause
Nevada still allows landlords to end periodic tenancies without stating a reason, subject to notice periods in NRS 40.251:
- Week-to-week tenancies: at least 7 days’ notice.
- Month-to-month and other periodic tenancies: at least 30 days’ notice.
- Older and disabled tenants: a tenant with a periodic tenancy other than week-to-week who is 60 or older or has a physical or mental disability may request, in writing and with proof, to stay an additional 30 days, and the landlord must generally allow it. The notice itself must tell the tenant about this right.
A fixed-term lease, by contrast, generally runs to its end date, so the no-cause route applies once a lease has rolled to month-to-month.
Where a tenant breaks a lease condition other than paying rent, Chapter 40 uses a shorter cure notice: the tenant is in unlawful detainer if a written notice requiring the tenant either to perform the condition or to surrender the unit goes uncomplied with for 5 days after service. That notice is a different document from the no-cause termination notice and from the seven-day nonpayment notice, and each must match the reason the owner is relying on.
Evictions for nonpayment in Henderson
Nevada’s summary eviction process moves quickly. Under NRS 40.2512, a residential tenant who defaults on rent is in unlawful detainer if a written notice to pay rent or surrender the premises goes uncomplied with for seven judicial days after service. Judicial days exclude weekends and court holidays, so the seven days usually stretch across nine or more calendar days.
How the Henderson process works
Henderson Justice Court, at 243 Water Street, hears eviction cases for the township. According to the court’s eviction division page:
- A nonpayment case requires one notice, the seven-day pay rent or quit notice. Evictions for other reasons require a notice stating the grounds and a separate unlawful detainer notice.
- Notices must be served by a constable, sheriff, licensed process server or an agent of a Nevada-licensed attorney, not by the landlord personally.
- The landlord’s complaint carries a $71 filing fee.
- If the landlord prevails, the Henderson Township Constable carries out the removal.
The court’s own seven-day notice form tells tenants they have seven judicial days after service to act, including filing an answer with the court.
What the Legislature changed and declined to change in 2025
The 2025 session produced several tenant bills, and the outcomes matter as much as the bills themselves:
- Signed: AB 121, described above, is now law.
- Vetoed: AB 280 would have capped annual rent increases for tenants 62 and older at 5% as a pilot program. Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed it, writing that its rent control provisions were likely to undermine housing affordability over time.
- Vetoed: AB 283 would have restructured the state’s summary eviction process, which would have changed how landlords file nonpayment cases.
- Vetoed: AB 223, covering rent withholding for repair problems, and AB 201, which would have expanded automatic sealing of eviction records.
The result is that the core of Nevada’s system, no rent caps and the seven-day summary eviction, is unchanged for now. The Legislature meets in regular session every other year, and the next one, in 2027, is the next opportunity for these proposals to return.
Henderson landlord-tenant rules in practice: what owners should do
For owners and managers of Henderson apartment buildings, the rules translate into a short operating checklist:
- Audit fee practices for AB 121. Confirm that advertised and lease rents are stated as one figure including mandatory fees, that at least one payment method is free, and that application fee policies match NRS 118A.306.
- Calendar rent notices at 60 days. Build renewal timelines backward from the effective date of any increase.
- Cap deposits and late fees. Three months’ rent and 5% after a three-day grace period are hard limits.
- Run deposit returns on a 30-day clock. Itemized accounting and refunds should be routine, not reactive.
- Never use self-help. Lockouts and utility shutoffs expose the owner to damages of up to $2,500 plus actual damages.
- Use proper service. Henderson notices must be served by a constable, sheriff, licensed process server or attorney’s agent.
- Confirm city licensing. Check with the City of Henderson whether your property needs a business license and keep it current.
These rules also matter when a building changes hands. Leases, deposits and notices transfer with the property, and a buyer inherits any compliance problems. Our guide to selling a rental property with tenants in place explains how leases and deposits are handled at closing.
Where to read the rules yourself
The statutes cited here are short and readable, and owners benefit from reviewing them directly:
- NRS Chapter 118A: deposits (118A.242), late fees (118A.210), rent increases (118A.300), application fees (118A.306), entry (118A.330), habitability (118A.290) and lockouts (118A.390).
- NRS Chapter 40: no-cause notice periods (40.251) and nonpayment notices (40.2512).
- Henderson Justice Court: current forms, fees and procedures for evictions in the township.
For more on how the local market fits together, visit our Henderson market page, and for coverage of other Nevada cities, see our Nevada apartment market overview.
Henderson’s landlord-tenant framework is comparatively owner-friendly: no rent control, short notice periods and a fast summary eviction process. The trade-off is that the rules that do exist are strict and specific, and the 2025 changes on fees and rent disclosure show that the details continue to evolve. Owners who build these requirements into their leases and calendars avoid most of the disputes that end up in court.
