AB 280 revises Nevada landlord-tenant law in three main ways. First, it requires landlords who collect application-related fees from a prospective tenant to refund those fees if the landlord rents the unit to someone else and never performs the work the fee was collected for, such as processing the application or obtaining a credit report or background check. It also prohibits charging application, credit-report, or background-check fees for a minor who is part of the prospective tenant’s household.
Second, the bill expands the required contents of written rental agreements. In addition to existing disclosures, leases must include separate appendices that clearly explain all fees that may be charged during the tenancy and the tenant’s rights under federal, state, and local law. The fee appendix must identify whether each fee is variable or fixed, and if variable, state that the tenant pays the actual cost incurred; if fixed or vendor-based, it must state the current amount. The bill also makes it unlawful to charge any fee not listed in the required appendix, and it voids lease provisions that do not conform to these requirements.
Third, AB 280 creates a temporary rent-increase limit for certain existing tenants. From July 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026, landlords may not renew or enter into a new rental agreement with a qualifying tenant and raise the rent by more than 5 percent over the rent in effect on June 30, 2025. The protected tenants are those age 62 or older or those who rely on Social Security Act benefits, including retirement, survivors’, SSI, or disability benefits.
The bill’s impact is to strengthen consumer protections in the rental market, increase lease transparency, and restrict certain fee practices by landlords and property managers. It amends NRS 118A.200 and adds new provisions to Chapter 118A of the Nevada Revised Statutes, while also creating a short-term rent cap for a defined class of older or fixed-income tenants. The bill takes effect in stages, with the rent cap effective July 1, 2025, and the fee and lease-disclosure provisions effective October 1, 2025.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history appears mixed but favorable enough for passage, with the bill clearing both chambers on party-line or near-party-line margins. The lack of committee transcript detail limits insight into floor debate, but the structure of the bill suggests support from tenant-protection advocates and likely opposition from landlord and property-owner interests. The main points of contention are likely the rent-increase restriction, the ban on certain application fees, and the new lease-disclosure and fee-itemization requirements, which impose additional compliance obligations on landlords.
AB 280 amends Nevada’s landlord-tenant statutes, chiefly NRS 118A.200, and adds new provisions governing rental application fees and lease disclosures. It requires landlords to refund certain application-related fees when no screening work is performed, bars charging those fees for minors in a prospective tenant’s household, mandates detailed fee and tenant-rights appendices in written rental agreements, and prohibits charging any fee not disclosed in the required appendix. It also imposes a temporary 5 percent rent cap for qualifying existing tenants age 62 or older or receiving Social Security Act benefits, affecting landlords, tenants, and property managers statewide.
The bill appears to have received enough support to pass both chambers, but the vote margins suggest meaningful opposition. With no committee transcript available, the record does not show detailed debate, but the policy direction is consistent with tenant-protection and housing-affordability concerns. The final passage votes indicate the measure was controversial rather than broadly unanimous, likely reflecting a split between lawmakers prioritizing renter protections and those concerned about landlord flexibility and regulatory burden.
The most likely points of contention are the temporary rent cap, the prohibition on charging application, credit, and background-check fees for minors, and the requirement that all fees be itemized and limited to those expressly disclosed in the lease appendix. Landlords and property-management interests would likely object to the added administrative requirements and limits on pricing and rent adjustments, while tenant advocates would support the bill as a transparency and affordability measure. The 5 percent cap for older and fixed-income tenants is especially likely to have been debated because it directly constrains rent increases for a targeted class of tenants.