Nevada Rental Application

What type of information should landlords collect?

When processing a Nevada rental application, you should collect the following information to help you make your decision.

• Names, birth dates, phone numbers, social security numbers, emergency contacts, and email addresses from each applicant
• Employment statuses and income histories
• Rental histories
• Personal, professional, and rental references
• Smoking statuses
• Pets — including whether or not the pet is a service or an emotional support animal
• Vehicle information

Rental applications deal with sensitive information. Handle them carefully and follow all relevant state and federal laws when choosing an applicant. In the following sections, we’ll review relevant guidelines so you can protect yourself and your applicants.

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Pre-Screener

Some landlords use a pre-screener to quickly assess an applicant before going through the application process. While not a substitute for a full screening, a pre-screener can save you time and money during the process.

A pre-screener could ask for:

• Applicant contact information
• Employment status and current income
• Self-reported credit score
• Desired date of move-in
• Number of occupants
• Pets
• Smoking status

Federal Application Laws

You must consider some important federal laws when deciding on an applicant. Make sure to abide by the:

Fair Housing Act (FHA): The Federal Fair Housing Act forbids landlords from discriminating against or favoring applicants based on their being part of a protected class. These protected characteristics include:

• Race
• Religion
• Disability
• National origin
• Sex
• Color
• Familial status

It is illegal to deny housing to a person based on the above characteristics. You are not allowed to ask if a person belongs to one of the above classes, which applies to the landlord, property owner, property manager, or employees of the property management company (Fair Housing Act).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA regulates how you can assess an applicant’s credit history when making a housing decision. The law also prohibits discriminating against applicants based on whether they’ve received public assistance or lived in public housing (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA prohibits you from discriminating against someone with a disability. It also requires you to provide reasonable accommodations for renters with disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The FCRA requires you to obtain an applicant’s consent to run a credit check. It also guides how to use the information you receive during that screening. If you decide to reject an application due to credit history, you must issue the tenant an adverse action notice describing the decision (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits racial discrimination when deciding a housing application. (Civil Rights Act of 1866).

Nevada Application Laws

Apart from federal law, Nevada landlord-tenant laws influence how you can decide whether to rent to an applicant. Nevada has its own Fair Housing Laws that include additional protections beyond the Federal Fair Housing Act. Plus, there are other nuances that we’ll discuss below.

Source of income: Nevada state law does not prevent you from considering an applicant’s source of income when making a housing decision. However, some local governments do. For instance, Clark County protects people who have received public assistance or lived in public housing from discrimination, so check your local laws to ensure you’re following them properly.

Criminal history: There is no specific restriction for Nevada landlords when conducting a criminal background check, except that you should judge applicants consistently. It’s important to consider convictions and not discriminate against someone just because they have a record.

Eviction history: Nevada landlords can use the public record eviction history when considering a rental application.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: Nevada has added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes found in the federal Fair Housing Act.

Portable tenant screening reports: Nevada laws don’t require you to accept a portable tenant screening report, but you can if you choose to.

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

If you allow pets into the rental unit, include a section within your Nevada rental application to collect that information from applicants.

Pet information: In this section, you could ask what kind of pet the tenant will bring, including type, size, and breed. Also, ask if the animal is a service or emotional support animal, as that could influence how you treat the application and the tenant’s pet.

Fair Housing Act: The FHA forbids you from discriminating against applicants because they have a service or emotional support animal (ESA). ESAs and service animals are exempt from pet deposits and pet rent, though the tenant could still be liable for damage caused by the animals.

Denial Process

It’s important to treat every applicant the same way. Apply consistent screening criteria for everyone who applies.

This helps to prevent discrimination and encourages fairness in the housing process. You can legally deny an application for insufficient income, poor credit history, adverse rental history, criminal background (if charges result in a conviction), or providing incomplete or false information on the Nevada rental application.

Denial notice: Nevada law does not require you to issue a formal denial notice if you do not approve the rental application.

Credit/background denials: The FCRA requires you to inform applicants via an adverse action notice if they’ve been denied based on credit information.

That notice must include:

• The name of the provider that conducted the background check/credit screening
• An explanation of the tenant’s right to dispute inaccuracies
• Contact information for the reporting agency

Document storage: Nevada law does not require landlords to store application-related documents for any specific period, though it is good practice to do so. Maintaining clear records can help protect a landlord if any discrimination claims arise over the denial of an application.