Personal Property Left Behind
What law governs property left behind?
NRS 118A.460 governs the landlord’s responsibilities for personal property left behind by a tenant. Conversion law also governs anyone who exercises dominion or control over the property of another.
Does a landlord have to store my property? For how long?
NRS 118A.460 requires the landlord to store and safekeep the property for 30 days after you leave. If you do not retrieve your property within 30 days, the landlord can dispose of the property in a commercially reasonable manner. The landlord must provide notice to you that your property will be disposed after 14 days expire and the landlord must make a reasonable attempt to locate you. At a minimum, the landlord must send notice to your present or last known address. The landlord shall provide at least 30 days before the landlord can legally dispose of your property.
Can the landlord charge for storing my property?
Yes. Before returning your property, a landlord can require you to pay reasonable and actual storage, inventory, and moving charges, but cannot charge you for back rent. If the landlord does withhold your property for back rent, you can sue the landlord for up to $1,000 in statutory damages, plus actual damages, pursuant to NRS 118A.520 and 118A.390.
What is reasonable?
To store your property, we often advise tenants that a landlord can charge up to the daily prorated rent you paid when you lived in the dwelling. For example, if you paid $300 per month in rent, the landlord can charge $10 per day ($300 divided by 30) to store your property. Inventory and moving costs would be based on the average costs of those services charged by a moving service in Nevada.
My landlord will not allow me to get my personal property.
Nevada law requires the landlord to provide a reasonable opportunity for you to retrieve your property. If not, you can file a motion to contest property lien.
My landlord is demanding unreasonable or unlawful charges before returning my property.
If you dispute the landlord’s charges as unreasonable or unlawful, or the landlord will not allow you to retrieve your property, you can file a motion to contest property lien. This would allow a judge to determine if your landlord should return your property and how much, if anything, the landlord can charge for the return of your property.
You must file a motion to contest personal property lien within twenty (20) days after you have moved, been evicted, or requested or received a copy of costs, whichever is later.
If you d0 not file your motion within twenty (20) days of vacating the premises, this does not mean that you do not have any other alternatives. One alternative is to file a small claims action against the landlord for the value of the property that you could not get back or was destroyed. You can sue the landlord for negligence based on a violation of NRS 118A.460 or conversion (as explained below).
What if someone other than my landlord has my property?
If the landlord has not stored your property for 30 days and given your property to someone else, you can claim conversion and sue this person. “Conversion” is the civil equivalent of stealing or embezzling. A conversion occurs whenever there is a serious interference to a party's rights in his property. Wantz v. Redfield, 326 P.2d 413 (Nev. 1958). Conversion exists where one exerts wrongful dominion over another’s personal property or wrongful interference with the owner’s dominion. The act constituting “conversion” must be an intentional act, but it does not require wrongful intent and is not excused by care, good faith, or lack of knowledge. Conversion does not require a manual taking. Where one makes an unjustified claim of title to personal property or asserts an unfounded lien to said property which causes actual interference with the owner’s right of possession, a conversion exists. Bader v. Cerri, 609 P.2d 314, 317 n. 1 (Nev. 1980).
When conversion occurs, the injured party should receive full compensation for his actual losses. Boylan v. Huguet, 8 Nev. 345 (1873). The return of the property converted does not nullify the conversion. Such return does serve to mitigate damages. Winkler v. Hartford Acc. and Indem. Co. 168 A.2d 418 (N.J. 1961).
