How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Nevada?

30 days. The clock runs from termination of the tenancy, with no tenant-demand and no forwarding-address precondition (NRS 118A.242(4)).

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Nevada?

A landlord who fails or refuses to return the remainder within 30 days owes damages equal to the ENTIRE security deposit, plus a further sum fixed by the court of up to the whole deposit again — total exposure up to twice the deposit (NRS 118A.242(6)).

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Nevada?

No — Nevada does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. No escrow, trust-account, or interest requirement exists anywhere in NRS 118A for ordinary deposits.

Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Nevada?

Yes — non-refundable fees are allowed in Nevada.

What are the security deposit rules in Nevada?

Verified July 10, 2026 All Nevada topics →

Nevada caps everything held as security — the security deposit, any surety bond, and prepaid last month's rent combined — at three months' periodic rent, and the landlord must return the balance with an itemized written accounting no later than 30 days after the tenancy ends.

Cited to NRS 118A.242 (1)-(9) and 3 more Nevada statutes · Verified July 10, 2026

The 30-day clock starts at termination automatically: no demand and no forwarding address are required, and the refund is handed over personally or mailed to the tenant's present or last known address. Only one nonrefundable charge is allowed — a reasonable cleaning charge agreed to in the rental agreement; every other attempt to label deposit money nonrefundable is void as against public policy. A tenant may offer a surety bond instead of cash only if the landlord consents, and a landlord can never require one. Miss the 30-day deadline and the landlord owes the entire deposit plus a court-fixed sum of up to the entire deposit again — up to double the whole deposit, with the court weighing good faith, course of conduct, and harm. There is no interest or separate-account requirement.

Nevada security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	3 months' rent — The ceiling is an AGGREGATE one: the security deposit, any surety bond and prepaid last month's rent all count toward it (NRS 118A.242(1)). The statute bars a landlord from demanding or receiving 'a security deposit or a surety bond, or a combination thereof, including the last month's rent, whose total amount or value exceeds 3 months' periodic rent.' Under NRS 118A.240(1), ANY payment, deposit, fee or charge to be used for remedying rent default, repairing damage beyond normal wear, or cleaning the unit is a 'security deposit' — so pet deposits and cleaning charges, including the permitted reasonable nonrefundable cleaning charge, fall inside the deposit scheme and, by that definition, inside the cap. That last step is a reading of the definitional text; no case law is cited on the point.
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	The clock runs from termination of the tenancy, with no tenant-demand and no forwarding-address precondition (NRS 118A.242(4)). The refund is due no later than 30 days after termination. Delivery is by handing it to the tenant personally at the place where rent is paid, or by mail to the tenant's present address or, if unknown, the tenant's last known address.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	The landlord must provide an itemized, written accounting of the disposition of the security deposit or surety bond and return any remaining portion within the same 30-day window (NRS 118A.242(4)). Deductions are limited to amounts reasonably necessary to remedy rent defaults, repair damage beyond normal wear, and pay reasonable cleaning costs. Where a surety bond is involved, a tenant who disputes an itemized claim may send a written response to the surety within 30 days of receiving the accounting, which blocks credit-bureau reporting of the landlord's claim unless the surety obtains a judgment (118A.242(5)).
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	No escrow, trust-account, or interest requirement exists anywhere in NRS 118A for ordinary deposits. Sole outlier: an ADDITIONAL deposit required in connection with a tenant's disability-modification request must be held in an interest-bearing account with interest paid to the requester (NRS 118.101(4)(c)) — a fair-housing provision outside ch. 118A.
Pet deposits	No pet-deposit-specific statute. A refundable pet deposit is used for damage or cleaning, making it a 'security deposit' under NRS 118A.240(1) that counts toward the 3-month aggregate cap and follows the 30-day return rules. SB 166 (2025, eff. 10/1/2025) bars insurers from using dog breed in landlord liability underwriting and requires supportive-housing grant recipients to allow a companion animal, but does not change deposit law for ordinary rentals.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Yes
Penalty for violation	A landlord who fails or refuses to return the remainder within 30 days owes damages equal to the ENTIRE security deposit, plus a further sum fixed by the court of up to the whole deposit again — total exposure up to twice the deposit (NRS 118A.242(6)). The measure is keyed to the deposit, not to the amount wrongfully withheld. For the discretionary component the court weighs the landlord's good faith, the parties' course of conduct, and the degree of harm to the tenant (118A.242(7)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	No statutory duty and no forwarding-address trigger — the 30-day clock runs from termination regardless. But the landlord's mailing duty runs only to the tenant's present or last known address (118A.242(4)), so a tenant who leaves no address risks the refund being mailed somewhere stale.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Nevada Security Deposit Laws (verified July 10, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/nevada/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Nevada statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Nevada security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Nevada rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

The 3-month cap is an aggregate, not a deposit-only cap — NRS 118A.242(1) caps the security deposit, any surety bond and prepaid last month's rent combined at three months' periodic rent. Prepaid last month's rent counts toward that ceiling.
The penalty is keyed to the whole deposit — A landlord who misses the 30-day deadline owes the entire deposit plus a court-fixed sum of up to the entire deposit again (NRS 118A.242(6)) — the measure is the whole deposit, not the amount wrongfully withheld. Because the second component is discretionary and capped at the deposit amount, read this as 'up to double the entire deposit,' not a flat automatic double.
Only one nonrefundable charge, and its cap treatment is our reading — Nevada allows a nonrefundable charge solely for the reasonable cleaning charge of NRS 118A.242(8). Whether that charge counts toward the 3-month cap is a textual interpretation of NRS 118A.240(1)(c) — cleaning money is itself a 'security deposit' by definition — and no case law is cited here on the point.
Terminology trap: 'security' and 'security deposit' are the same thing — AB 308 (2021) renamed the defined term 'security' to 'security deposit' in NRS 118A.240. Pre-2021 sources citing 'security' are citing the same section.
AB 223 (2025) was vetoed — do not import it — AB 223 (2025) would have added per-payment rent receipts and more, but it was vetoed and never became law. Some 2025 blog coverage still describes its provisions as if they were in force.

Common questions: Nevada security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Nevada?: 3 months' rent — The ceiling is an AGGREGATE one: the security deposit, any surety bond and prepaid last month's rent all count toward it (NRS 118A.242(1)).
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Nevada?: 30 days. The clock runs from termination of the tenancy, with no tenant-demand and no forwarding-address precondition (NRS 118A.242(4)).
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Nevada?: A landlord who fails or refuses to return the remainder within 30 days owes damages equal to the ENTIRE security deposit, plus a further sum fixed by the court of up to the whole deposit again — total exposure up to twice the deposit (NRS 118A.242(6)).
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Nevada?: No — Nevada does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. No escrow, trust-account, or interest requirement exists anywhere in NRS 118A for ordinary deposits.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Nevada?: Yes — non-refundable fees are allowed in Nevada.

Statute citations

NRS 118A.242 (1)-(9) (verified 2026) Official source
NRS 118A.240 (1)-(2) (verified 2026) Official source
NRS 118A.244 (verified 2026) Official source
NV Rev St 118A.242 (mirror) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Nevada Legislature site (leg.state.nv.us NRS-118A.html, Rev. 4/15/2026, codified through the 2025 session): NRS 118A.242, 118A.240, 118A.300, 118A.210 and 118A.330 each read on the official page and independently re-read on the codes.findlaw.com mirror (current through 1/1/2025); every key number matched verbatim across both reads. Session laws read in full from official archive PDFs: enrolled AB 308 (2021) confirming the 45-to-60-day and 15-to-30-day rent-notice change (Sec. 7, eff. 7/1/2021) and the 3-calendar-day late-fee grace period (Sec. 2); enrolled AB 121 (2025, all-in rent pricing, eff. 10/1/2025, confirmed codified); enrolled AB 223 (2025) read and confirmed VETOED (its changes absent from the official codified text). 2025 regular-session and 36th Special Session outcomes checked 2026-07-10; Nevada's biennial legislature has no 2026 regular session.