Tenant rights bill would limit late fees, called 'slap in the face' by real estate industry

There’s little disagreement that Nevada is facing a housing crunch; rental prices are up, and the supply of affordable dwellings has generally not kept up with the state’s population growth.

But a bill aiming to give more power to tenants heard Friday in the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor highlighted the tension between advocates seeking to expand tenant rights and property managers and developers — one who called the bill a “slap in the face” — and who have advocated for tax credits and fewer regulations and restrictions on construction.

Proposed by Democratic Sen. Yvanna Cancela, SB256 would institute a slew of restrictions for landlords at rental properties, including limits on late fees and restrictions on discriminating against renters who receive government benefits or, for applicants for low-income housing, who have a prior history of not paying rent. It also expands the legal actions a tenant can take against a landlord and redefines “rent” to only include monthly payments and not nonrefundable fees charged by a landlord to a tenant.

Cancela said the bill was a direct response to issues raised during an interim legislative committee on affordable housing, dedicated to digging into the issues facing many of the 469,000 Nevada households that rent, or about 45 percent of the state. Nevada has a wait list of more than 9,500 households for low-income housing, and it’s estimated that statewide only 15 affordable homes are available for every 100 extremely-low income renters in need of housing.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/tenant-rights-bill-would-limit-late-fees-called-slap-in-the-face-by-real-estate-industry