What Nevada law actually says
Nevada's residential landlord-tenant statute, Nev. Rev. Stat. Chapter 118A, is not ambiguous about security deposits. The landlord has 30 calendar days after you vacate to do one of two things: return the deposit in full, or deliver a written itemized statement describing every deduction along with any remaining balance. Those are the only two options. There is no grace period, no informal extension, and no provision for "we're still getting estimates."
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.210 sets the 30-day return window. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.240 sets the consequence for missing it: the landlord is liable to the tenant for the full deposit amount plus interest at 1 percent per month, compounded daily, plus reasonable attorney's fees if the tenant prevails in a civil action. What makes Nevada different from most states is the liability trigger. Most states require you to show the landlord acted in bad faith. Nevada does not. The failure to comply within 30 days is itself enough. The statute creates strict liability.
Nevada also limits how much a landlord can collect as a security deposit in the first place. Under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.200, a landlord may not demand or receive a deposit exceeding one month's rent. If your landlord collected more than that, the excess is recoverable regardless of any dispute over the remainder.
What your landlord can and cannot deduct
Nevada allows deductions from a security deposit for a narrow set of legitimate purposes. If a deduction falls outside these categories, it is not lawful, full stop.
Permitted deductions include: unpaid rent that was actually owed through the date you vacated, cleaning costs necessary to restore the unit to its condition at move-in (not a standard professional cleaning charge applied automatically), damage you caused that goes beyond ordinary wear and tear, and any other obligation explicitly authorized by the lease.
Ordinary wear and tear is never a deductible item in Nevada. Courts have interpreted this to mean the expected deterioration that happens when a rental unit is occupied normally over time: minor scuffs on walls, faded paint, small carpet wear in high-traffic areas, worn weather stripping. None of these are your financial responsibility. The landlord absorbs them as a cost of owning rental property.
If your landlord's itemized statement includes deductions for normal aging, for repairs that were already needed before you moved in, or for a flat-rate cleaning fee with no documentation, those line items are contestable. Your demand letter should call out each disputed item by name and explain why it falls outside the statutory categories.
The 30-day window and the interest clock
The 30-day window opens the day you surrender possession of the unit. That generally means the day you return the keys, vacate the premises, or the date a formal termination or eviction becomes effective. Mailing time works against the landlord, not in their favor. A postmark on day 31 is a missed deadline.
Once day 31 arrives with no payment and no itemized statement, the interest clock starts. Interest accrues at 1 percent per month, compounded daily, on the full deposit amount. That rate sounds modest, but a dispute that drags on for six months adds 6 percent to the base amount, and daily compounding accelerates that faster than simple interest would. On a $1,500 deposit, six months of accrued interest adds roughly $90 to $95, before attorney's fees are even considered.
There is no Nevada equivalent of a bad-faith multiplier (California doubles the deposit; Nevada does not). What Nevada gives you instead is a cleaner, more automatic path to liability. You do not have to argue intent. You do not have to reconstruct the landlord's thought process. You point to the calendar, identify the date you vacated, and count to 30.
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What you may be owed
Estimate only. Uses your state's return window and bad-faith multiplier. Not legal advice.
Evidence you'll need before you send the letter
A demand letter lands harder when you can document every claim you make in it. Before you draft anything, gather these records.
Proof of tenancy and deposit payment. Your signed lease, the move-in inspection report if one was completed, and a bank statement, receipt, or canceled check showing the deposit amount you paid and when.
Move-in and move-out condition documentation. Photos or video with date stamps showing the condition of the unit when you moved in and when you moved out. If your landlord conducted a formal move-out walkthrough, bring notes or any documentation from that walkthrough. If they did not, the absence of a landlord-initiated inspection works in your favor.
The vacate date and proof of surrender. A text or email confirming the move-out date, a dated photo of returned keys, or any written communication establishing when you handed over possession.
The landlord's response, or the absence of one. If they sent an itemized statement, print it. If they sent nothing, screenshot your inbox and any property-management portal showing no communication was sent or received after your move-out date.
Your forwarding address record. Nevada landlords send the deposit or statement to your last known address. Provide a forwarding address in writing at move-out and keep a copy of that notice.
How to write the Nevada demand letter
The best demand letters are short, specific, and cite the statute by section number. Landlords and their property managers recognize a statutory citation immediately. It signals that the sender knows the law, and that the next step, small claims court, is a real possibility and not a bluff.
Your letter should include these elements:
Opening facts. Your name, the rental address, your move-in and move-out dates, and the deposit amount you paid.
The missed deadline. State the date you vacated, count forward 30 days, and name that date explicitly. "The 30-day period required under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.210 expired on [date]. As of the date of this letter, you have not returned my deposit or provided an itemized statement."
The statutory consequences. Cite Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.240 directly. Name the two consequences: the full deposit plus interest at 1 percent per month compounded daily, and attorney's fees if you prevail in court.
Your specific demand. A dollar amount. The deposit, plus any interest already accrued from the missed deadline to the letter date. A specific deadline for response, typically 10 to 14 calendar days from receipt.
The escalation. A clear, direct statement that failure to pay by the deadline will result in filing in Nevada Justice Court and seeking the full statutory recovery.
Keep the tone flat and factual. Do not editorialize. Do not use the word "fraud." The letter's job is to demonstrate that you know what the statute says, that the deadline has passed, and that you are prepared to proceed.
Interest and attorney's fees: the numbers behind your leverage
Nevada's interest provision is not symbolic. At 1 percent per month compounded daily, a landlord who holds a $2,000 deposit for six months past the deadline owes approximately $122 in interest on top of the deposit, before attorney's fees are factored in. That number grows every day the dispute continues.
Attorney's fees under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.240 are recoverable by the prevailing tenant in a civil action. This provision matters even if you never hire an attorney, because it signals to the landlord that if they force you into court and you win, they may owe not just the deposit and interest but your legal costs as well. For deposits above $2,000 to $3,000, that fee exposure is significant enough that settling on receipt of a demand letter becomes the economically rational choice.
This is the reason the demand letter works: it puts a number on the cost of continued noncompliance. The landlord can pay you now, or pay you more later.
If the letter doesn't produce payment
Some landlords don't respond. Some respond with a dispute they cannot back up with documentation. If your deadline passes with no payment and no credible itemization, the next step is file a Nevada small claims case for a withheld deposit in the Nevada Justice Court covering the county where the rental was located.
Nevada Justice Courts hear claims up to $10,000, which covers virtually all deposit disputes in the state, including accrued interest and documented costs. You do not need an attorney to file. The filing fees are modest, the process is designed for self-represented plaintiffs, and you walk in with the same strict-liability statute and the same 30-day calendar evidence that made your demand letter credible in the first place.
Keep the certified mail tracking record from your demand letter. The fact that you gave the landlord formal written notice and a reasonable opportunity to pay before filing matters to the court.
What happens after you send the letter
Most landlords in Nevada respond within the 10- to 14-day window you name in the letter. The certified mail tracking creates a delivery record neither side can dispute, and the statutory citation confirms you're not guessing at the law.
The most common responses: full payment, a partial payment with a revised itemization, or an itemized statement the landlord claims they intended to send but never did. If the response is partial payment, evaluate the remaining disputed deductions against the statutory categories. If the itemization is inadequate (vague, undocumented, or outside the permitted categories), you still have grounds to pursue the balance.
If there is no response at all by the deadline you set, treat that as a final answer and proceed to file in Justice Court. The demand letter becomes exhibit one in your case, and the certified mail tracking shows the landlord was aware of the statutory obligation and chose not to comply.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources
We draft from authoritative statutes and state-court self-help guidance. Every article on Sue.com links to the primary source so you can verify the citation yourself.