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Squatters and vacant property in Nevada: what the law says

Nevada wrote two crimes for exactly this: breaking into an empty house to live in it, and moving into one you have no permission to be in. Each is a gross misdemeanor — in Nevada that means up to 364 days in the county jail — and an officer may arrest for one without a warrant even if he did not see it happen. To get someone out you serve a written notice to surrender, then ask a court. If the occupant files nothing, the court can order the sheriff to remove them within twenty-four hours. If he files an affidavit raising a defense — which is what a forged lease is for — you get a hearing instead, and it can turn into an ordinary court case. Either way a judge signs; nobody is put out of a Nevada house on your word alone. Every answer below is quoted from the statute it came from.

Every answer on this page is quoted from the statute it came from and linked to the source, so you can read the law yourself. Last checked against the statutes on 2026-07-14.

What to do now — this part is ours, not the law

There is no 30-day rule. Nobody becomes a tenant by standing in your house long enough — not in thirty days, not in ninety. They are not a tenant on day one and they are not a tenant on day ninety. What time does change is how hard they are to remove, and how much of your money it takes. That is a reason to move today, not a deadline you have already missed.

If someone is in the property right now

  1. Do not go in, and do not change the locks. It is the first thing everyone wants to do and it is how the owner becomes the defendant. Read that question above before you touch anything.
  2. Call the police non-emergency line. Ask them to look at it as a criminal trespass rather than a landlord–tenant dispute. Those are different outcomes and the words matter.
  3. Have your proof of ownership in your hand when they arrive — the deed, a recent tax bill, your ID. The officer's whole decision turns on whether he believes you own it.
  4. Photograph everything, and write down every date. When you last saw it empty. When you found them. What was said. Who you called, and when.
  5. Call a lawyer the same day. Not next week. The clock on every route above has already started.
The full checklist — what to record and what to ask →

If it has not happened yet

Everything on this page gets easier the earlier you do it. Photograph the property empty, keep the utility bills, and write down who is allowed inside — before you lock up and walk away. None of that is expensive. All of it is worth more than it looks at 2am.

The checklist for leaving a property vacant →

Is a squatter a tenant — and what rights do they have?

No — though Nevada never says so in one sentence. What it does instead is make the occupancy itself a crime and route the person out on a track separate from the one written for tenants. A Nevada court can still be asked to decide whether a landlord-tenant relationship exists between you and the person inside.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

If a trespasser counts as a tenant, the owner is routed into housing court and every fast option closes.

1 · NRS 205.0817(1) — unlawful occupancy (added 2015; amended 2017)

“A person who takes up residence in an uninhabited or vacant dwelling and knows or has reason to believe that such residency is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner is guilty of unlawful occupancy.”

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 205.0817(2) — the presumption, and what rebuts it

“A person is presumed to know that the residency described in subsection 1 is without the permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner unless the person provides a written rental agreement that: (a) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the owner who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in property management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and (b) Includes the current address and telephone number of the owner or his or her authorized representative.”

This is a presumption, not a verdict — the occupant may still rebut it, and what an officer does with a piece of paper handed to him at the door is his judgment, not the statute's. Note also § 205.0813(2), which carries the identical presumption for housebreaking.

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 40.240(1) — forcible detainer defined

“Every person is guilty of a forcible detainer who either: (a) Unlawfully holds and keeps the possession of any real property by force or threats of violence, or whether the possession was acquired peaceably or otherwise; or (b) Enters any real property without the authority of the owner of the property, an authorized representative of the owner or an occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property and who, after receiving written notice to surrender pursuant to subsection 2, fails to surrender the property.”

A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH, NOT ABOUT THE LAW: we read NRS 40.230 through 40.420 and NRS 205.081 through 205.082 in full on the Legislature's own server on 2026-07-14, looking for a sentence declaring that a squatter is not a tenant. We found none. What Nevada does instead is put the unlawful or unauthorized occupant in NRS 40.412 to 40.416 and the tenant in NRS 40.250 to 40.2545 — and the removal statute itself contemplates that the two can be confused: § 40.416(7)(a) preserves a party's rights under chapter 118A "if the court finds that a landlord and tenant relationship exists between the parties."

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can I just change the locks?

No — not on your own. Nevada only lets an owner change the locks after the police have arrested every adult who was living there and the state has taken any children into custody. Until that has happened, this section does not protect you: a court can put the person straight back in within ten days, and hold you in contempt.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

Lawful in a handful of states, a crime in most. Getting this wrong turns the victim into the defendant.

1 · NRS 40.412(1) — when an owner may retake possession and change the locks

“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, in addition to the remedy provided in NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, when all known unlawful or unauthorized adult occupants of a dwelling have been arrested for housebreaking or unlawful occupancy and all minor occupants are taken into the custody of the State, the owner of the dwelling may retake possession and change the locks on the dwelling.”

Read the gate, not the permission. Every condition in that sentence is an act by somebody else — an arrest, and a custody decision. And read subsection 4 in the next link, which closes the section entirely while anyone is still inside. The section also comes with duties: a notice posted on the dwelling for at least 21 days, a copy filed with the court within 1 day of the locks being changed, and safe storage of the occupant's belongings (§ 40.412(2)–(3)).

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 40.412(4) — when the section does not apply

“This section does not apply if one or more unlawful or unauthorized occupants is occupying the dwelling.”

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 40.416(1)–(4), (6) — the locked-out occupant recovers possession

“If the owner of a dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner locks an occupant out of the dwelling pursuant to NRS 40.412, the occupant may recover possession of the dwelling as provided in this section. … The court shall, after notice to both parties, hold a trial on the occupant’s verified complaint for reentry not later than 10 judicial days after the date on which the occupant files the verified complaint for reentry. … If the court finds that an unjustified lockout has occurred, the court must issue a writ of restitution, restoring possession of the dwelling to the occupant. … If the owner of the dwelling or the person on whom a writ of restitution is served fails to immediately comply with the writ or later disobeys the writ, the failure is grounds for contempt of court against the owner or the person on whom the writ was served, under chapter 22 of NRS.”

The ellipses join subsections 1, 3, 4 and 6 of the same section, in order, as printed. This is the price of moving first, and it is written into the same chapter that grants the permission.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

If police do act, what is the charge — and can they arrest for it?

Yes — Nevada lets an officer arrest without a warrant even if he did not see it happen. Breaking into an empty house to live in it, and moving into one without permission, are each their own crime here, and each is serious enough that an arrest is on the table. What is left for him to decide is whether the person inside had permission — and that is the next question.

›Read the law — 4 provisions

A charge that only supports a citation does not remove anyone from a house. This is the link that killed the previous market.

1 · NRS 205.0813(1), (5) — housebreaking, and "forcibly enters"

“A person who forcibly enters an uninhabited or vacant dwelling, knows or has reason to believe that such entry is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner and has the intent to take up residence or provide a residency to another therein is guilty of housebreaking. … As used in this section, “forcibly enters” means an entry involving: (a) Any act of physical force resulting in damage to the structure; or (b) The changing or manipulation of a lock to gain access.”

The ellipsis joins subsections 1 and 5 of the same section, in order. "Dwelling" is defined at NRS 205.081: "a structure or part thereof that is designed or intended for occupancy as a residence or sleeping place."

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 205.0817(1) — unlawful occupancy

“A person who takes up residence in an uninhabited or vacant dwelling and knows or has reason to believe that such residency is without permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner is guilty of unlawful occupancy.”

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 205.0813(3) and NRS 205.0817(3) — grading; NRS 193.140 — punishment of gross misdemeanors

“A person convicted of housebreaking is guilty of: (a) For a first offense, a gross misdemeanor; and (b) For a second and any subsequent offense, a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130. … A person convicted of unlawful occupancy is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. … Every person convicted of a gross misdemeanor shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 364 days, or by a fine of not more than $2,000, or by both fine and imprisonment, unless the statute in force at the time of commission of such gross misdemeanor prescribed a different penalty.”

The ellipses join three provisions, in order and as printed: NRS 205.0813(3), the first sentence of NRS 205.0817(3), and NRS 193.140. The grade is the whole point of this link. In the previous market the equivalent offense was graded so low that state law barred an arrest and left the officer writing a citation — and a citation removes nobody from a house. Nevada grades these GROSS misdemeanors, and the next link is Nevada's warrantless-arrest statute at that grade. Read them in order.

Read it at the source →

4 · NRS 171.124(1) — arrest by a peace officer without a warrant

“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 and NRS 33.070 and 33.320, a peace officer or an officer of the Drug Enforcement Administration designated by the Attorney General of the United States for that purpose may make an arrest in obedience to a warrant delivered to him or her, or may, without a warrant, arrest a person: (a) For a public offense committed or attempted in the officer’s presence. (b) When a person arrested has committed a felony or gross misdemeanor, although not in the officer’s presence. (c) When a felony or gross misdemeanor has in fact been committed, and the officer has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.”

Read paragraphs (b) and (c) together with the grading link above, and note the words the power actually runs on: "reasonable cause for believing." That is the officer's judgment about the very thing the intruder's paperwork is designed to cloud. These are the provisions, in order. We have drawn no conclusion from them — the officer at the door draws it.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What decides whether police arrest or walk away?

Permission — whether the officer at the door believes the person inside had it. Nevada gives him a starting point most states do not: the occupant is presumed to know he has no permission unless he produces a rental agreement that is notarized or signed by a licensed property manager and carries your address and phone. It is a presumption, not a verdict — he can still argue against it. And when you go to court to get them out, the law does not ask you to prove you own the building, and it does not name anyone whose job it is to check.

DeedProof solves this

We verify you own the property and file your notarized statement where police can check it. How it works →

›Read the law — 2 provisions

Every other question here is downstream of this one. The whole encounter, in one decision, made in a doorway in the dark.

1 · NRS 205.0817(2) — the presumption, and the document that rebuts it

“A person is presumed to know that the residency described in subsection 1 is without the permission of the owner of the dwelling or an authorized representative of the owner unless the person provides a written rental agreement that: (a) Is notarized or is signed by an authorized agent of the owner who at the time of signing holds a permit to engage in property management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS; and (b) Includes the current address and telephone number of the owner or his or her authorized representative.”

And the statute already knows the fraud it is up against. NRS 40.414(6)(d)(2) contemplates the case where the occupant "gained entry or possession of the real property peaceably and as a result of an invalid lease, fraudulent act or misrepresentation by a person without the authority of the owner of the real property" — the forged lease, named in the removal statute itself.

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 40.414(5) — what the affidavit of complaint for eviction must state or contain

“Upon expiration of the written notice to surrender, the owner of the real property, an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property may apply by affidavit of complaint for eviction to the justice court of the township in which the real property is located or the district court of the county in which the real property is located, whichever has jurisdiction over the matter. The affidavit of complaint for eviction must state or contain: (a) The date on which the unlawful or unauthorized occupant forcibly entered or detained the real property or the date on which the applicant first became aware of the forcible entry or forcible detainer. (b) A summary of the specific facts detailing how the alleged forcible entry or forcible detainer was or is being committed. (c) A copy of the written notice to surrender that was served on the unlawful or unauthorized occupant. (d) Proof of service of the written notice to surrender in compliance with NRS 40.280.”

A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH, NOT ABOUT THE LAW: on 2026-07-14 we read NRS 40.230 to 40.420 and NRS 205.081 to 205.082 in full on the Nevada Legislature's own server. We looked for any provision telling a court, a clerk, a sheriff or an officer how to establish that the person who signed the affidavit — or who changed the locks under § 40.412 — actually owns the building. A deed check, a recorder's lookup, a registry, anything. We found no such provision. Read the four paragraphs above and count the words about ownership: there are none. Confirm it against the official code before relying on it.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What is the lawful way to get them out?

A written notice giving them four court days to go, then a sworn complaint to the court — and if the court is satisfied, the sheriff removes them within twenty-four hours of getting the order. If they file an affidavit that raises a real defense, you get a hearing instead, and if the court finds a defense, the whole thing turns into an ordinary court case.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The route sets the real cost. A summary track is weeks; a full civil suit is months.

1 · NRS 40.240(2) — the notice to surrender

“The owner of the real property, an authorized representative of the owner or the occupant who is authorized by the owner to be in possession of the real property may seek to recover possession of the property pursuant to NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, after the expiration of the notice to surrender served by the owner or authorized occupant upon the person who committed the forcible detainer. The notice must: (a) Inform the person who committed the forcible detainer that he or she is guilty of a forcible detainer; and (b) Afford the person who committed the forcible detainer 4 judicial days to surrender the property.”

NRS 40.230(2) says the same for a forcible ENTRY — force, violence, or changing the lock on the owner — and both sections carry treble damages: "judgment may be entered for three times the amount at which the actual damages are assessed." Service must follow NRS 40.280.

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 40.414(6)(a) — the order, and the 24-hour removal

“The unlawful or unauthorized occupant has failed to timely file an affidavit contesting the matter pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 4 and the court determines that sufficient evidence has been set forth in the affidavit of complaint to demonstrate that a forcible entry or forcible detainer has been committed by the unlawful or unauthorized occupant, the court must issue an order directing the sheriff or constable of the county to remove the unlawful or unauthorized occupant within 24 hours after the sheriff’s or constable’s receipt of the order from the court.”

This is the UNCONTESTED path. The occupant has until the close of business on the fourth judicial day after service to file an affidavit contesting it (§ 40.414(4)(c)), and he may also ask the court to stay the removal (§ 40.414(4)(b)).

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 40.414(6)(c) and (6)(d)(1)–(2) — the contested path

“The unlawful or unauthorized occupant has timely filed an affidavit contesting the matter pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 4 and the court determines that the affidavit raises an element of a legal defense regarding the alleged forcible entry or forcible detainer, the court must require the parties to appear at a hearing to determine the truthfulness and sufficiency of the evidence set forth in any affidavit. Such a hearing must be held within 7 judicial days after the filing of the affidavit of complaint. … There is a legal defense as to the alleged forcible entry or forcible detainer, the court must refuse to grant either party any relief and, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, must require that any further proceedings be conducted pursuant to NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive.”

The ellipsis joins paragraph (c) of subsection 6 to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (d) of the same subsection, in order, as printed. And read (d)(2), which is written for the forged-lease case: where the occupant "gained entry or possession of the real property peaceably and as a result of an invalid lease, fraudulent act or misrepresentation," the court "may issue a summary order for the removal" but may also stay it for up to 20 days. The fast lane is discretionary there, not automatic.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Days, if nobody fights it: four court days on the notice, then a court order, then the sheriff has twenty-four hours. If they file an affidavit raising a defense, you get a hearing within seven court days — and if the court finds the defense is real, it refuses to decide it fast and sends you into an ordinary court case, which is months. The money splits the same way. A filing fee is the smallest number in this; the one that hurts is a lawyer for the contested case, and nothing in Nevada's removal statute says the occupant has to pay it back.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The two numbers every owner wants, and the one nobody warns them about: you do not get it back.

1 · NRS 40.240(2)(b) — the four-day notice

“Afford the person who committed the forcible detainer 4 judicial days to surrender the property.”

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 40.414(6)(a) — removal within 24 hours

“the court must issue an order directing the sheriff or constable of the county to remove the unlawful or unauthorized occupant within 24 hours after the sheriff’s or constable’s receipt of the order from the court.”

This is the sentence people quote when they call Nevada fast. It is the tail of § 40.414(6)(a), and paragraph (a) applies only where the occupant "has failed to timely file an affidavit contesting the matter." Our customer's squatter files one. That is what the forged lease is for.

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 40.414(6)(c), (6)(d)(1) — the hearing, and what happens if a defense is real

“Such a hearing must be held within 7 judicial days after the filing of the affidavit of complaint. … the court must refuse to grant either party any relief and, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, must require that any further proceedings be conducted pursuant to NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive.”

NO DOLLAR FIGURE APPEARS ON THIS PAGE, and that is deliberate. Nevada's statutes do not name a filing fee for this: justice court, constable and sheriff fees are set outside the statute, county by county, and we did not read a published schedule. Every fee figure on this site appears verbatim in a document we fetched, or it does not appear. A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH: we read NRS 40.414 in full on 2026-07-14 and found no provision awarding the owner his costs, his attorney's fees, or anything for the months the occupant was in the building. (NRS 40.230 and 40.240 do carry treble DAMAGES on a forcible entry or detainer — quoted under "What is the lawful way to get them out?" above — which is a different thing from your costs, and a separate matter to pursue.)

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can a sheriff remove them on the owner's affidavit alone, with no court?

No — a judge signs it. Nevada's route is fast, but your sworn statement goes to a court, and the sheriff acts on the court's order, not on your word.

›Read the law — 2 provisions

Where a state has passed this, it hands the owner the whole mechanism for free. This field tracks the existential risk.

1 · NRS 40.414(3)(b)(2) — who issues the removal order

“That if the court determines that the unlawful or unauthorized occupant is guilty of a forcible entry or forcible detainer, the court may issue a summary order for removal of the unlawful or unauthorized occupant or an order providing for the nonadmittance of the unlawful or unauthorized occupant, directing the sheriff or constable of the county to remove the unlawful or unauthorized occupant within 24 hours after the sheriff’s or constable’s receipt of the order from the court.”

The court is also the check: under § 40.414(6) it "shall determine the truthfulness and sufficiency of any affidavit or notice provided for in this section" before it issues anything. What it is not given is any way to test the one thing it never asks about — whether the person who swore the affidavit owns the building.

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 40.412(1) — the one route with no judge in it

“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, in addition to the remedy provided in NRS 40.290 to 40.420, inclusive, when all known unlawful or unauthorized adult occupants of a dwelling have been arrested for housebreaking or unlawful occupancy and all minor occupants are taken into the custody of the State, the owner of the dwelling may retake possession and change the locks on the dwelling.”

A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH: we read NRS 40.230 to 40.420 in full on 2026-07-14 and found no provision under which a Nevada sheriff removes an occupant on the owner's sworn statement alone, with no judicial officer involved. Every removal in the chapter is on a court order. Nevada has not passed the affidavit-to-sheriff law that fourteen other states have. Confirm against the official code before relying on it.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

How long before they can claim they own it?

Five years — but only for someone who has been paying every tax bill on the property for those five years, on top of occupying it continuously and openly. That is the requirement almost nobody meets, and Nevada writes it as an absolute condition.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The thing an owner of an empty building actually fears. Pure state statute.

1 · NRS 11.150 — additional requirements: 5 continuous years; payment of taxes

“In no case shall adverse possession be considered established unless it be shown, in addition to the requirements of NRS 11.120 or 11.140, that the land has been occupied and claimed for the period of 5 years, continuously, and that the party or persons, their predecessors and grantors have paid all taxes, state, county and municipal, which may have been levied and assessed against the land for the period mentioned, or have tendered payment thereof.”

"In no case shall adverse possession be considered established unless" is the strongest form the drafters had. The five years is the headline; the taxes are the answer.

Read it at the source →

2 · NRS 11.140 — what constitutes adverse possession where there is no written instrument

“For the purpose of constituting an adverse possession, by a person claiming title, not founded upon a written instrument, judgment or decree, land shall be deemed to have been possessed and occupied in the following cases only: 1. Where it has been protected by a substantial enclosure. 2. Where it has been usually cultivated or improved.”

Where the occupier DOES hold a written instrument — a deed, even a bad one — NRS 11.110 and 11.120 govern instead, and the list of qualifying uses is longer. The period is still five years, and § 11.150 still requires the taxes.

Read it at the source →

3 · NRS 11.080 — seisin within 5 years necessary in an action for real property

“No action for the recovery of real property, or for the recovery of the possession thereof other than mining claims, shall be maintained, unless it appears that the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s ancestor, predecessor or grantor was seized or possessed of the premises in question, within 5 years before the commencement thereof.”

Read alongside NRS 11.100, which presumes possession in the person holding legal title — and treats an occupier's possession as subordinate to that title — UNLESS the premises have been "protected by a substantial enclosure" or "cultivated or improved." These are the provisions, in order. We have drawn no conclusion from them.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

This page is the law. What it costs you in Nevada — the filing fee, the sheriff’s bill, the months, and whether you ever see the money again.

Your deed proves you own it. It does not prove you never rented it.

That is the officer’s real question, and the lease in their hand does not contradict your deed. You can swear it is a forgery — but a statement you write the morning after, against a lease dated last year, is worth very little. The version that counts has to already exist.

How DeedProof verifies owners and files the affidavit in advance →

› Every source on this page (10)

NRS 205.0817(2) — the presumption, and the document that rebuts itNRS 40.240(2)(b) — the four-day noticeNRS 40.412(1) — the one route with no judge in itNRS 40.416(1)–(4), (6) — the locked-out occupant recovers possessionNRS 205.0813(3) and NRS 205.0817(3) — grading; NRS 193.140 — punishment of gross misdemeanorsNRS 171.124(1) — arrest by a peace officer without a warrantNRS 40.414(3)(b)(2) — who issues the removal orderNRS 11.150 — additional requirements: 5 continuous years; payment of taxesNRS 11.140 — what constitutes adverse possession where there is no written instrumentNRS 11.080 — seisin within 5 years necessary in an action for real property

DeedProof is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. We cite primary sources; we do not interpret them for your situation. Laws change — confirm current requirements with the relevant government office or a licensed attorney.