Summary of AB 386. Squatter Issues

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1 Squatter Issues Summary of AB 386 After the vast number of foreclosures between , our communities ended up with an overwhelming amount of vacant homes. These homes have fallen prey to criminal activity resulting in occupancy by persons not authorized by the owner. These homes many times become a hotbed of other criminal activity. Furthermore, without a summary process to deal with these problems the only current civil remedy is a formal civil process which could be 60 days or more before a trial date can be set. A two-pronged approach is proposed to deal with this situation: one criminal and one civil, with a small degree of overlap.

2 Criminal Approach Overlap of Criminal/Civil Civil Landlord/Tenant Procedures Sec. 46 Creates a new criminal offense called "Housebreaking" for breaking into an uninhabited dwelling. Sec. 47 Creates a new criminal offense called "Unlawful Occupancy" for knowingly residing in a home without permission of the owner Sec. 48 Creates a new criminal offense for re-entering an uninhabited dwelling after being removed by order of the court or lockout after arrest for one of the above. Sec. 2 Allows an owner to secure the property and recover possession by changing the locks after all occupants have been arrested for violation of Sec. 46 or Sec. 47. This secures the structure, fixtures inside, and personal property of the arrestee. Sec. 3 Provides a process for the arrestee to recover their personal property by filing a motion with the Court rather than self-help. Sec. 4 Provides a remedy for the arrestee to file a Complaint for Reentry if they believe they were wrongfully locked out. Sec. 11 Revises and broadens the definition of Forcible Entry to encompass the reality of what we are seeing in our communities. Sec. 12 Revises and broadens the definition of Forcible Detainer to encompass the reality of what we are seeing in our communities. Sec. 3 Creates a civil process to obtain a court order for removal of a "squatter" or other occupant not authorized by the owner to be present. For those occupants who have unwittingly believe they are a tenant through scam, the court has the discretion to give them up to 30 days to vacate. Over the years, many changes have taken place to the procedural requirements outlined in Chapter 40 for the eviction of a tenant by a landlord. Sometimes, those changes have left inconsistencies or lack of clarity for the eviction process. The following is provided to help digest the keys parts of the bill:

3 Sec. 5 Currently contained in NRS (1)(a)(3) - This gives the "Tenant at Will" basis for eviction its own statute for ease of reference Provides a definition for "Tenant at Will" Spells out the next step is either formal unlawful detainer complaint or summary procedure under NRS Maintains all the same notice requirements No new procedural requirements Sec. 6 Currently contained in NRS (1)(c) - This gives the bases for eviction from a mobile home/rv lot in a mobile home park its own statute It reads identical to the original statute with no substantive changes Spells out the next step must be the formal unlawful detainer complaint as no summary procedure is authorized Maintains all the same notice requirements No new procedural requriements Sec. 7 Currently contained in NRS (1)(d) - This gives the "no cause" basis for eviction from an RV park its own statute for ease of reference It makes no substantive changes from the original statute Spells out the next step is either formal unlawful detainer complaint or summary procedure under NRS Maintains all the same notice requirements No new procedural requirements Sec. 8 This section deals wtih a private cause of action for a nuisance NOT an eviction of a tenant for a nuisance. The amendments make it clear that a landlord evicting a tenant for a nuisance is covered under NRS These two statutes are confused by practioners regularly Sec. 9 Adds definitinos for "landlord's agent," "dwelling or dwelling unit," and "short-term tenancy"

4 Sec. 10 Modernizes language used from "lands and tenements" to "real property" Consistency with terms used in Chapter Sec. 13 This statute currently outlines the "holdover" basis for eviction Clarifies that lease can expire by its original terms or by termination by a landlord under NRS 118A.430 after proper notice Matinas all current procedural requirements Spells out the next step is either formal unlawful detainer complaint or summary procedure under NRS Sec. 14 By removing all of the other bases for eviction and giving them their own independent statute (Sec. 5, 6, and 7 of this act), this now applies only to the "no cause" basis for eviction Provides timelines for a tenant over the age of 60 or disabled ro request additional time to vacate Requires a landlord to provide a response to a tenant request for additional time to vacate Sec. 15 Makes no substantivie changes Spells out the next step is either to file a formal unlawful detainer complaint or summary procedure under Adopts definition of rent from Chapter 118A Sec. 16 This section deals wtih five different bases for eviction that require a three day notice to vacate Expands the basis to include "on or about the leased premises" for waste and violations of the UCSA Spells out the next step is either formal unlawful detainer complaint or summary procedure under NRS Maintains current notice requirements

5 Sec. 17 This section deals with tenants who fail to comply with the convenants of the lease agreement There is one substantive change. Current law stated a tenat had to be given a notice that allowed 5 days to surrender the property or 3 days to cure the lease violation. This conflicted with the law under NRS 118A.430 that authorizes a tenant 5 days to cure or remedy the breach. Because the landlord cannot act until expiration of the 5 days anyway, it seemed to make sense to make these two statutes consistent. No oother substantive changes are made NRS 118A.430 Failure of tenant to comply with rental agreement or perform basic obligations: Termination of rental agreement. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if the tenant fails to comply with the rental agreement or fails to perform his or her basic obligations under this chapter, the landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate as provided in this section. If the breach is remediable and the tenant does not adequately remedy the breach or use his or her best efforts to remedy the breach within 5 days after receipt of the notice, or if the breach cannot be remedied, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. Sec. 19 This is the procedural statute for summary eviction for non-payment of rent Removes the language describing a short-term tenancy as that was added to the definintion section in Sec. 9 of this act Removes the requirements for service to centralize those under NRS While the current statute advised the landlord of what advisements must be included in the notice, it does not provide any statutory language on what the tenant must do upon receipt of the notice. Clarifies a motion to stay the eviction should be raised in the affidavit filed with the court Clarifies the 5 day notice requirement is 5 "judicial" days. This is consistent with the legislative history of this statute, the Justice Court Rules of Civil Procedure, and curent practice throughout the state. This is NOT an attempt to lengthen the time of the notice Sec. 20 This statute provides the summary process for all bases for eviction other than non-payment of rent Current statute provides that summary eviction is only authorized for notices served under NRS that leaves out summary evictions for unlawful business, unauthorized subletting, nuisance, waster, violations of UCSA, holdover tenants, and violations of the convenants of the lease Amendemetns would include these bases within the statute Additinoally, the procedures of this summary process required one to revert back to the procedures under NRS Amendments under this bill create an independent statute

6 Sec. 21 This section makes no substantive changes Of note, is the clarification language thatin a post-foreclosure scenario where a tenant of the former owner is occupying the property AND has been given a proper change of ownership notice pusuant to this statute, the new landlord may use the summary eviction procedures for violations amounting to an unlawful detainer. Some courts do not allow the summary process because they do not believe the statute is clear Sec. 23 This statute outlines the service requriements for all notices under Chapter 40 Amendments create distinct requirements for residential, commercial, short-term tenancy, and forcible entry/detainer scenarios rather than trying to have one statute that fits all Removes the need for a witness signature when personal service is accomplished by a sherrif, constable, or process service Sec. 27 Provides a timeline of 7 judicial days to file an appeal from a summary eviction or order of removal. Currently there is no time limit required Sec. 35 Clarifies that the provisions of Chapter 118A (Landlord/Tenant Act) do not apply to a person guilty of a forcible entry or forcible detainer All Other Sections All remaining sections make no substantive changes and are inlcuded in the bill for one of the following reasons: to ensure current cross-references remain intact consistency in use of the term "surrender" rather than quit or vacate consistency in the use of the term "plaintiff" rather than complainant