Nevada ESA Housing Letter

What Nevada law says about emotional support animals

We found no Nevada statute that uses the words emotional support animal. Instead, NRS 118.105 covers an animal that assists, supports or provides service to a person with a disability, alongside Nevada's general reasonable accommodation rule and the federal Fair Housing Act.

• Under the Nevada Fair Housing Law, no one may refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when a person with a disability needs them to use and enjoy the dwelling. (NRS 118.101(1)(b))

• A landlord may not refuse to rent to a person with a disability solely because an animal that assists, supports or provides service to that person will live in the home. The rule applies to rentals under Nevada's landlord-tenant law, NRS chapter 118A, which doesn't cover some housing, such as low-rent public housing programs and manufactured home park spaces. (NRS 118.105(1); NRS 118A.180(2))

• The landlord may ask for proof that the animal assists, supports or provides service to you. NRS 118.105 says that proof can be, among other things, a statement from a provider of health care that the animal performs a function that ameliorates the effects of your disability. (NRS 118.105(2))

• NRS 118.105 doesn't require training; its test is whether the animal assists, supports or provides service. HUD's May 2026 memo limits the violations HUD itself will find to trained animals, but it doesn't change this Nevada text. A 2025 bill, SB 107, would have narrowed the section to service animals and dropped the health care provider statement; it died in committee. (NRS 118.105; SB 107 (2025))

• Some rentals sit outside the Nevada Fair Housing Law. Its definition of a dwelling excludes a single-family house that its owner rents out without a real estate agent or broker, if the owner has no more than three such houses, and rooms or units in an owner-occupied building for up to four families, with conditions. That definition applies throughout NRS 118.010 to 118.120, so on its face it limits the animal rule too. (NRS 118.060(2); NRS 118.030)

• We found no Nevada statute that speaks to pet deposits or pet fees for an assistance animal. The fair housing law does bar discrimination because of disability in a rental's terms and conditions, including deposits. (NRS 118.100(2))

• Fraudulently passing off an animal as a service animal, or a service animal in training, is a misdemeanor in Nevada, punishable by a fine of up to $500. Nevada takes its service animal definition from the ADA rule, which says emotional support isn't work or a task, so refer to yours as an emotional support animal. (NRS 426.805; NRS 426.097; 28 CFR 36.104)

Checked November 2026 at the sources listed at the end of this page. More on Nevada ESA laws.

If your Nevada landlord says no

1. Ask in writing and keep your own copy of the request, your letter and every reply.
2. Ask for the reason in writing, and send any information your landlord didn't consider.
3. Describe your animal accurately, as an emotional support animal, not a service animal.

• File with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) no later than one year after the discrimination happened or ended. Choose Housing Complaint on NERC's online portal; the complaint is signed under oath. Nevada law also treats it as on time if you file with an appropriate federal agency within that year. (NRS 233.160(1); NRS 118.110)

• Court is another option: the federal Fair Housing Act lets you sue within two years of the discrimination. Silver State Fair Housing Council meets with clients to go over their options, including a lawsuit with a private attorney or legal services. (42 U.S.C. §3613(a)(1)(A))

• You can also file with HUD within one year (42 U.S.C. §3610). Under its May 2026 memo, HUD finds a violation only where the animal is trained to provide disability-related assistance.

If your landlord denies your request in writing, you may also be eligible for a refund: see our refund policy.

Renting in Nevada

• 40.0% of occupied homes in Nevada are rented US: 34.8%
• 481,396 renter households
• $1,597 median gross rent a month US: $1,413

Two in five occupied homes in Nevada are rented (40.0%), while the US share is 34.8%, and the median gross rent of $1,597 a month is $184 above the US median. With 481,396 renter households, the state's rules on animals in rentals reach a lot of people, though some homes are exempt.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table DP04, 2020–2024: Nevada, United States.