Overview Of The "Summary" Process
Get a quick overview of the "summary" procedure most frequently used by landlords.
Intro To Eviction
Unless a tenant has surrendered possession of the rental property to the landlord or abandoned the property, a landlord must file an eviction case in order to remove the tenant. (NRS 118A.480.) Click to learn more about Abandonment.
Typically, a "landlord" is anyone who provides a dwelling for occupancy pursuant to a lease agreement. (NRS 118A.100.) But a landlord-tenant relationship might exist even if there is no written lease. A rental agreement can be oral as well as written. (NRS 118A.160.) To decide whether a landlord-tenant relationship exists, a court could look at whether the landlord consented to the occupancy, the length of the occupancy, and whether any money, goods, or services were exchanged.
CAUTION! Even if there is no landlord-tenant relationship, Nevada has other laws to prevent the forcible removal or exclusion of an occupant. (NRS 40.220, 40.230, 40.240.) A breach of the peace or the use of force is never appropriate!
There are two processes the landlord can use to evict a tenant: (1) the "summary" eviction process, and (2) the "formal" eviction process. For more information about the difference between the two eviction processes, click to read Choosing the Summary or Formal Process.
Summary Eviction Overview
A "summary" eviction begins with the landlord serving the tenant with one or, in some cases, two eviction notices. When the tenant receives the notice, the tenant might choose to leave the property, comply with the notice (for example, by paying rent or fixing the lease violation), or file an affidavit (sometimes called an "answer") with the court to dispute the notice.
If the tenant files an affidavit/answer and the landlord files a complaint with the court to evict the tenant, the court will schedule a hearing to decide whether an order for summary eviction should be issued. The hearing is usually scheduled within one week after the landlord files the complaint. The landlord must file a complaint before the case is scheduled for a hearing.
The two flowcharts below show how a summary eviction works. The first flowchart is for nonpayment of rent. The second is for anything other than nonpayment of rent (for example, a lease violation or a nuisance). To download a flowchart, click one of the links below:
Flowchart - Summary Eviction Nonpayment of Rent
Flowchart - Summary Eviction Other Than Nonpayment of Rent
For more information about the summary eviction process, click to read Filing a Summary Eviction and Responding to an Eviction Notice.
