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Las Vegas, NV Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Adopted standard
Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition (LVMC 16.20.010)
Local amendment
City supplement adds to/deletes from the 1994 code
Penalty
Misdemeanor: up to $1,000 fine and/or 6 months jail
Continuing violation
Each day counted as a separate offense
Separate program
Converted motels inspected under LVMC Chapter 16.22
Where filed
Full adopted text on file with the City Clerk

Summary

Las Vegas sets its local habitability baseline by adopting the Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition, by reference under LVMC 16.20.010, plus a City supplement that amends it. Breaking any requirement of that adopted Housing Code is a misdemeanor under LVMC 16.20.020, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, or both, with each day of violation counted separately.

16.20.010 - Adoption by reference. Those certain documents, three copies of each being on file in the office of the City Clerk and designated as follows, are adopted by reference and made a part of this Code, to the same effect as if set forth at length herein: (A)Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition, designated as Part 1 of this Chapter;(B)A supplemental document which amends, by adding to and deleting from, the Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition, designated as Part 2 of this Chapter.

16.20.020 - Violations. Whenever in this Chapter any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor... the doing of any such prohibited act or the failure to do any such required act shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or by any combination of such fine and imprisonment. Any day of any violation of this Chapter shall constitute a separate offense.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).

Full Breakdown

20 of the Las Vegas Municipal Code, the City's Housing Code, does not print its habitability standards directly in the Municipal Code text. 010 adopts 'the Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition,' as Part 1 of the chapter, plus 'a supplemental document which amends, by adding to and deleting from, the Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition,' as Part 2, both kept on file in the Office of the City Clerk under Ordinance 3896 (1995). That incorporated text, not the Municipal Code itself, is where the itemized structural, sanitation, plumbing, electrical, light and ventilation standards for existing residential buildings live.

22. Because the operative standards sit inside the adopted 1994 edition and its local supplement rather than the codified Municipal Code, a tenant or owner who wants the itemized criteria must obtain that adopted document from the City Clerk; the Municipal Code section establishes only the adoption and the penalty for violating it.

Violations & Fines

Violating any requirement of the adopted Housing Code is a misdemeanor under LVMC 16.20.020: a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. The chapter treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense, so an uncorrected habitability defect, such as a structural or sanitation failure covered by the adopted 1994 Uniform Housing Code, can generate cumulative daily counts until the property is repaired and passes reinspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What housing code applies to rental homes in Las Vegas?
The City adopted the Uniform Housing Code, 1994 Edition, by reference under LVMC 16.20.010, along with a City supplement amending it. That adopted text, on file with the City Clerk, sets the structural, sanitation and maintenance standards Las Vegas uses to judge habitability, separate from state landlord-tenant law in NRS Chapter 118A.
What happens if a landlord ignores a Housing Code violation?
Under LVMC 16.20.020, any violation of the adopted Housing Code is a misdemeanor: up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both. The Code treats every day the violation continues as a separate offense, so penalties can stack until the property is brought back into compliance.
Is this the same program that inspects converted motels?
No. Chapter 16.20's Housing Code sets the maintenance standard for residential buildings generally, while converted non-transient lodging properties such as former motels get their own annual inspection program under the separate LVMC Chapter 16.22, which is already covered as its own topic.
Where can I read the actual habitability standards?
The itemized standards are not printed in the Municipal Code text itself. They live in the 1994 Uniform Housing Code and the City's amending supplement, both adopted by reference under LVMC 16.20.010 and kept on file in the Office of the City Clerk.

Sources & Official References

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