Nevada Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Nevada?

If you operate a manufactured home park in Nevada, the lot lease is governed by NRS Chapter 118B, and the rules are prescriptive. The core requirement is simple: the agreement to rent a manufactured home lot must be in writing, and you must hand the tenant a signed copy at the time of signing (NRS 118B.040). An oral or handshake lot tenancy does not meet the statute.

Chapter 118B does more than require a writing. It dictates the minimum contents of the lease (NRS 118B.040(3)), the documents you must disclose before you can even collect an application fee (NRS 118B.040(1)), how park rules are adopted and enforced (NRS 118B.100), lease terms that are automatically void (NRS 118B.050), and charges you are flatly prohibited from imposing (NRS 118B.140).

Treat these as a compliance checklist, not suggestions. A lease that omits required terms, buries a prohibited waiver, or tacks on an illegal fee exposes the park to tenant damage claims and unenforceable provisions. The sections below break down each requirement with the controlling statute.

Required contents of the written lot lease (NRS 118B.040)

NRS 118B.040(3) enumerates what every lot lease must contain. Build your template so each item is present: the duration of the agreement; the amount of rent, the manner and time of payment, and the amount of any late-payment and dishonored-check charges; any restrictions on occupancy by children or pets; the services and utilities included and who handles maintenance; any deposits required and the conditions for their refund; the maintenance the tenant must perform; and the name and address of the owner and any authorized agent.

The list continues: any restriction on subletting; recreational facilities and amenities and the conditions for their use; whether the park is age-restricted (senior) housing; the dimensions of the tenant's manufactured home lot; a summary of the nuisance provisions in NRS 202.470; the procedure a tenant uses to report a nuisance or a building, health or safety code violation; the tenant's right to display the flag of the United States; any charge that reimburses a capital improvement; and any other fees charged in addition to base rent.

Two mechanics matter operationally. First, the paragraph on rent must also spell out your late-fee and returned-check charges, and those numbers have to comply with NRS 118B.140 (covered below). Second, because lot dimensions must appear, keep an accurate lot survey or map tied to each space so the figure in the lease is defensible.

Pre-application disclosures and park rules (NRS 118B.040 and 118B.100)

Nevada front-loads disclosure. Under NRS 118B.040(1), before you may require payment of an application fee you must give the prospective tenant a copy of the rental agreement or lease; a copy of the park rules and regulations; any required notices of sale, closure or conversion of the park; the criteria the park uses to accept or reject applicants; a list of every rent increase for that lot during the last five years; the landlord's maintenance responsibilities under NRS 118B.090; and any other residency documents. Delivering these only after acceptance is too late.

Park rules are a distinct compliance area. NRS 118B.100 requires that rules be reasonably related to the purpose for which they are adopted, be sufficiently explicit to inform the tenant what to do or not do, and be uniformly enforced against all tenants, including managers, a rule that is not uniformly enforced may not be enforced against anyone. You must give the tenant a copy of the existing rules at the time the tenant enters into the rental agreement.

Amending rules mid-tenancy is tightly controlled. A rule adopted or amended after the tenant signs is unenforceable unless the tenant consents in writing or is given 60 days' written notice, and you may not adopt or amend a rule unless you hold a tenant meeting and give each tenant notice of the proposal and the meeting date, time and place at least 60 days before the meeting.

Void and prohibited lease provisions (NRS 118B.050 and 118B.140)

NRS 118B.050 lists lease provisions that are void even if the tenant signed them. You cannot make a tenant waive or forego rights or remedies under Chapter 118B; authorize anyone to confess judgment; agree to pay the landlord's attorney's fees or costs (though the lease may allow fees to the prevailing party in a court action); agree to exculpate or indemnify the landlord for the landlord's own liability; agree to a termination-notice period longer than the lease term; or agree to pay an extra charge for children or pets unless you provide a special service for them. A tenant may recover actual damages caused by enforcing a void provision, so these clauses are a liability, not a protection.

NRS 118B.140 prohibits specific charges and practices. You may not require a person to buy a manufactured home as a condition of renting a lot; charge an entrance or exit fee for assuming or leaving occupancy; take a commission on the sale of a tenant's home (with a narrow licensed-dealer exception); or charge fees for a spouse or children. Late fees are capped: no late fee within the first 4 days after rent is due, and no more than $5 for each day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) the payment is overdue.

Because the required lease contents (NRS 118B.040) force you to state your late-fee amount in writing, the number in your template must already respect the $5-per-day and 4-day-grace ceiling. New or increased service charges generally require 90 days' advance written notice. Audit your standard lease against both statutes before rollout, a single boilerplate waiver or an over-market late fee can taint every lease in the park.

Lease requirements at a glance in Nevada

• Written agreement, signed copy
  The lot lease must be in writing and you must give the tenant a signed copy at signing (NRS 118B.040(2)).
• Mandatory lease contents
  Include all NRS 118B.040(3) items: duration, rent and late/NSF charges, deposits and refund terms, utilities and maintenance, owner/agent identity, subletting rules, amenities, age restriction, lot dimensions, NRS 202.470 summary, code-violation reporting procedure, flag-display right, capital-improvement charges, and any added fees.
• Pre-application disclosures
  Before taking an application fee, provide the lease, rules, acceptance criteria, five-year rent-increase history, closure/conversion notices, and maintenance responsibilities (NRS 118B.040(1)).
• Rules copy at signing
  Give the tenant the existing park rules and regulations when the tenant enters the agreement (NRS 118B.100).
• Rules must be reasonable and uniform
  Rules must be reasonably related to their purpose, explicit, and uniformly enforced against all tenants including managers (NRS 118B.100).
• 60-day rule-change process
  A rule adopted or amended mid-tenancy needs written consent or 60 days' notice, plus a tenant meeting noticed at least 60 days ahead (NRS 118B.100).
• Void provisions
  No waiver of Chapter 118B rights, confession of judgment, one-sided attorney fees, exculpation/indemnity, over-long termination notice, or unjustified child/pet surcharges (NRS 118B.050).
• Prohibited charges
  No home-purchase requirement, no entrance/exit fees, no late fee before day 4 or above $5/day excluding weekends and holidays (NRS 118B.140).

Operator best practices in Nevada

• Use one Chapter 118B-compliant lease template
  Maintain a single master lot lease that already contains every NRS 118B.040(3) term and strips out every NRS 118B.050 void clause, so no space is leased on outdated paper.
• Build a pre-application disclosure packet
  Assemble a standing packet (lease, rules, acceptance criteria, five-year rent history, closure notices, maintenance duties) and deliver it before collecting any application fee, with a dated acknowledgment.
• Calendar the 60-day rule-change workflow
  Before amending any park rule, schedule the tenant meeting and mail notices at least 60 days out; document consent or notice for each tenant to keep the change enforceable.
• Cap and document late fees
  Configure billing so no late fee posts before day 4 and never exceeds $5 per non-holiday day, matching the amount stated in the lease's rent paragraph.
• Enforce rules uniformly
  Apply every rule to all tenants and managers alike and log enforcement, since a rule enforced selectively becomes unenforceable against everyone.
• Keep accurate lot dimension records
  Tie each space to a survey or map so the lot-dimension figure required in the lease is accurate and defensible.
• Build a relationship with a Nevada MHP attorney
  Have counsel who specializes in Nevada manufactured-home-park law review your lease, rules, disclosure packet, and fee schedule against current NRS Chapter 118B before each leasing season and after legislative sessions.