In Nevada, there are several different types of evictions, and each type follows its own eviction process. Although it varies by county, a tenant can appeal their eviction in the county where they live. If you live in Clark County, appeal your eviction right away because you only have ten business days to appeal from the date the eviction notice was filed.
Evictions and eviction appeals seem to be a hot topic these days given COVID-19 restrictions, rent moratoriums, financial struggles renters are facing, federally funded rental assistance, increasing violence across the country, and a multitude of other factors. Basically, many landlords and tenants are struggling with housing for several different reasons. In this article, we will briefly go over the tenant eviction appeals process and give you some high-level information about how it works.
Appeals Procedure
There are several steps involved in the tenant eviction process for appeals. These steps can be followed by both the landlord and the tenant to appeal the decision on an eviction case. If the tenant feels they were wrongly evicted, they can file an appeal with the courts. Likewise, if a landlord disagrees with the decision of the Las Vegas justice court on an eviction case for one of their properties, they can also appeal.
Paperwork
The appeal process starts with filling out the appropriate appeals form. The appeal form is available on Clark County’s website and the Civil Law Self Help Center website. Once you file your appeal, the eviction case will be put on hold until the appeal hearing.
There are usually court costs and fees up to or exceeding one hundred dollars to file the appeal with the higher district court. For tenants, there is paperwork you can find online and fill out to attempt to have the filing fee waived if you cannot afford it.
If you are a landlord who needs assistance with tenant eviction appeal paperwork, contact a local eviction services company like Rocket Eviction. They are a full-service eviction services provider that handles all of your eviction needs from start to finish. They offer legal representation, paperwork filing, eviction notice services, and much more. Their team of experts operates in Southern Nevada, including Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and the greater Clark County area.
Show Evidence
Before you go to court for your appeal, make sure to gather evidence of any violations that were fixed or evidence of how the property was left after you moved all of your belongings out. If there are no violations found, the judge may rule in favor of eviction. Under Nevada law, if you already had justice court proceedings were recorded by a clerk during the hearing, you must file to get those records from the courthouse to file them with your appeal.
Continue to Pay Rent if You Remain in the Property
It can take a long time to get an appeal hearing date scheduled by a judge. In the meantime, if you remain on the premises, you must continue to pay your landlord’s rent when it comes due. According to Nevada revised statutes, if you do not, your landlord can file a Five Day Notice to Pay or Quit, which can get you kicked out of the property within the next five days for failure to pay rent. Not paying rent while you wait for a decision is considered a violation of the lease agreement, and your landlord is legally allowed to take action against you by serving an additional eviction notice.
After some time has passed, if you do not hear anything from the justice court system about whether or not your appeal was granted or denied, contact the court clerk and find out what is going on. If the appeal was not processed by the clerk, you will need to push for your appeal hearing sooner rather than later.
Try Mediation
If you do not want to deal with the district court or justice court at all, you can choose to use the free eviction mediation program offered by the Civil Law Self Help Center to settle your landlord-tenant disputes. There is no filing fee, formal eviction process, summary eviction process, attorney fees, and no final judgment in Clark County Court. Mediation has moderate success, but sometimes it’s necessary to follow civil law proceedings carried out in a district court where a judge grants the final decision in order to get a proper resolution for all.
Guidelines for All
The number one guideline tenants should follow when appealing a tenant eviction in a higher court is to be patient, keep calm, and show respect to the court. It can take many weeks before a judge hears the appeal so you have to remain patient as well as keep filing timely rent payments if you are living on the property. The same goes for landlords trying to overturn a justice court decision.
If you are a struggling tenant, reach out to the Civil Law Self Help Center or the Las Vegas Legal Aid Center for assistance. If you are a struggling landlord trying to process a tenant eviction or overturn a tenant eviction appeal decision, reach out to a local eviction services company like Rocket Eviction. Evictions must be done properly. They are time-consuming and stressful for the average person. As a landlord and investor, save yourself time and headaches and hire a professional to coordinate with the courts, law enforcement, and your difficult tenant all on your behalf.
