Las Vegas, NV Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Chapter 19.17 of the Las Vegas Unified Development Code lets developers of affordable housing projects apply for density bonuses, height bonuses and financial incentives authorized by NRS 278.235. Section 19.17.010 makes the Director of Community Development and the Director of Neighborhood Services jointly responsible for administering and enforcing the program. To qualify, a project must sit on property whose General Plan category or zoning classification is listed in Section 19.17.030, meet the affordable-housing criteria in that section, and follow the application and document requirements of Section 19.17.040 (Section 19.17.020).

The density bonus itself is set out in Section 19.17.070's table: projects in the TOD-1/TOC-1 transect zones that make at least 10% of units affordable earn up to 10 dwelling units per acre above what the General Plan otherwise allows; TOD-2/TOC-2 and NMXU projects at the same 10% threshold earn up to 5 units per acre; any other eligible category (excluding the R, DR and RNP General Plan categories) earns up to 3 units per acre. "Affordable Housing" is defined by reference to a household's gross monthly income as a percentage of Clark County's area median income (AMI), determined from the most current HUD estimates for Clark County.

Section 19.17.030 imposes lasting conditions on bonus units: a recorded document detailing the bonuses and affordability requirements must run with the property and transfer to future purchasers; the owner or management company must retain rental and sales records and produce them to the City on request; affordable units must keep their affordable status for at least thirty years from the date the certificate of occupancy issues; and to the extent practicable those units cannot be clustered within a building or site, and must match the project's market-rate units in materials, finishes, quality, layout, bedroom/bathroom count and square footage so they are not visually distinguishable.