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What if I am Served with an Eviction Notice in Las Vegas?

If you violate provisions of your lease, you may be required to vacate your rental property. However, there are landlord/tenant laws in place that protect you from being unlawfully evicted. These laws require landlords to follow a specific process to evict you and you cannot just be turned out of your home.

If you are served with an eviction notice in Las Vegas, you need to respond appropriately to that notice. You can leave the property, you can wait until you are formally evicted, or you can try to fight the eviction. A Las Vegas real estate lawyer at Pintar Albiston LLP can provide you with legal assistance if you want to fight the eviction or if you need help deciding on the best course of action when you are faced with a notice to vacate.

What to Do If Served with an Eviction Notice in Las Vegas?

The first thing you need to do if served with an eviction notice in Las Vegas is to determine the type of notice that you have received. There are five common types of eviction notices that you may find on your door. They include:

  • A five day notice to quit or pay. This is the type of eviction notice you’ll receive if you don’t pay rent. A landlord can send this once the rent is late or, if there is a grace period, can send it after the grace period. If you receive this notice, you can opt to pay the full rental amount that is due. If you offer to pay the full amount, your landlord has to accept and cannot force you to leave. If you offer a partial payment, the landlord does not have to agree to accept that and can move forward with the eviction.
  • A three day nuisance notice. If you are served with an eviction notice in Las Vegas for nuisance, this means you have done something that other tenants and/or the landlord consider to be a nuisance. If you unlawfully run a business out of your home; if you illegally sublet the property; or if you used drugs on the premises, these are all possible reasons why you may receive this notice. In many cases, you can correct the problem that is described as creating the nuisance in order to avoid eviction.
  • A five day notice to perform lease condition or quit. If you are violating any conditions of your lease, you can be served with an eviction notice requiring you to correct the violation or leave.
  • A seven day notice. This type of eviction notice can be served with weekly rentals. The landlord will provide information on the reason for the eviction. In some cases, there may be no reason and the landlord may simply want to stop renting the property to you.
  • A 30-day notice. This is the type of eviction notice you will receive if you rent on a monthly basis and the landlord no longer wishes to rent to you for any reason or no reason at all.

After you receive these initial notices, if you do not leave, then you will be served with a five day notice to quit for unlawful detainer. This is served after you have refused to leave, because your presence is no longer considered lawful.

In some cases, there is little or nothing you can do if served with an eviction notice except leave. For example, if you have a monthly or weekly rental and you are given seven or 30 days notice, you have to vacate. However, you may be able to argue against leaving under other circumstances. If you are being evicted for nonpayment of rent and you held back rent money because the property was not in habitable condition, you could challenge the eviction. You could also challenge the eviction if you are accused of nuisance or violating a lease condition and you did nothing wrong.

A Las Vegas real estate lawyer can help you decide what your best options are and can respond on your behalf when served with an eviction notice. Contact Pintar Abiston LLP today to learn more.