By Harrison Bohn and Francisco Morales
Nevada’s 2025 legislative session marked a significant shift in housing policy, with lawmakers advancing a suite of bills aimed at increasing transparency, expanding development opportunities, and improving housing access across the state. From tenant protections to large-scale funding for attainable housing, these measures reflect a growing need to address Nevada’s housing affordability crisis. This update provides a summary of four key bills—AB121, AB241, AB540, and SB114—that collectively represent a multifaceted approach to housing reform.
AB121: Effective Date of October 1, 2025
This bill provides for additional lease transparency and consumer protection for prospective and current tenants. Landlords are required to list the amount of rent due as a singular figure by tabulating the periodic rent for the unit itself and all mandatory fees. Landlords must also refund application fees for prospective tenants if they rent the unit to a different tenant and did not conduct the activity for which the fee was collected. There must also be one method for a tenant to pay the rent without an associated fee.
2. AB241: Effective Date of October 1, 2025
Local governments must adopt an ordinance prior to March 1, 2026, to authorize by-right development of multifamily and mixed-use developments on property zoned for commercial use. This does not include property zoned for, or in relation to, an airport, property within the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact, and property zoned for industrial use.
3. AB540: Effective Date Varies by Section
Governor Lombardo’s omnibus housing bill, the Nevada Housing Access and Accountability Act, will infuse $133 million to increase housing development, land acquisition, essential worker home purchase assistance, and local government incentives. This bill also streamlines administrative approvals for attainable housing projects. The act will be administered by the Nevada Housing Division in coordination with the newly created Nevada Attainable Housing Council.
4. SB114: Effective Date of October 1, 2025
Landlords with developments containing over 50 units in Clark County and Washoe County, and over 30 units in all other counties, must conduct background checks on all employees with access to keys to any dwelling unit as part of their employment. These developments shall maintain a key log for the issuance and return of dwelling unit keys. Additionally, the landlord shall create written policies for storage, issuance, return, security, usage and deactivation of dwelling unit keys.
These legislative efforts signal a comprehensive strategy to tackle Nevada’s housing challenges from multiple angles—tenant rights, land use reform, development incentives, and safety protocols. As these laws take effect, stakeholders from renters and developers to local governments will need to adapt to new standards and opportunities. Continued collaboration and oversight will be important to ensure these policies deliver on their promise of a more accessible, equitable, and secure housing landscape for all Nevadans.
About the authors
Harrison Bohn, policy advisor and associate, and Francisco Morales, senior policy advisor, are part of the Government Relations team at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. For more information, visit www.bhfs.com.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Sep. 2025), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2025/communique-sep-2025/. The printed magazine will be mailed to CCBA members in the last week of August 2025.
The articles and advertisements appearing in Communiqué magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CCBA, the CCBA Publications Committee, the editorial board, or the other authors. All legal and other issues discussed are not for the purpose of answering specific legal questions. Attorneys and others are strongly advised to independently research all issues.
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