Nevada application fee law: refund if you never process it, and no fees for minors

When must you refund the fee?

Subsection 1 covers a landlord who collects any fee to apply to rent a dwelling unit, including an application fee, a fee to obtain a credit report or a fee to obtain a background check. The landlord must refund it if two things are both true: the landlord rents the unit to a different prospective tenant, and the landlord does not conduct the activity for which the fee was collected, including processing the application or obtaining the credit report or background check.

Both conditions are required. If you did the work, the statute does not require a refund. If you rented to someone else but ran the check first, again no refund is required by this section. The duty applies to the applicant whose paperwork you never touched.

Example a made-up landlord collects a $40 fee from each of three applicants. The first applicant is screened and approved, and the unit is rented. The other two were never processed. The two unprocessed fees, $80 together, must be refunded because the unit went to a different tenant and the work was never done.

Who cannot be charged?

Subsection 2 bars collecting an application fee, a credit report fee or a background check fee for a minor who is a member of the household of the prospective tenant. Subsection 3 defines "household" as an association of persons who live in the same home or dwelling and are related by blood, adoption, marriage or domestic partnership, and "minor" as a person under 18. So a family of two adults and two children pays for two screenings, not four.

So how much can the fee be?

The section sets no amount. That does not make every number safe. A fee far above the cost of processing invites a dispute about reasonableness, and the refund rule shows that the statute expects the fee to be tied to work. A fee that matches the screening cost and is described in writing is the safest position, and fair housing law still requires you to treat applicants alike.

Setting up a clean process

A simple routine keeps you inside the statute. Record the date and time each application arrives. Mark every application as processed or not processed, and note what was done, such as credit report ordered or background check ordered. When the unit is rented, review the list for unprocessed applications and send those refunds at once instead of waiting to be asked. For a household with children, count only the adults when you set the number of reports. Keeping these notes together turns the refund rule into a two-minute task. Do the review on the day the lease is signed, while the details are fresh, and note the date you finished it. If an applicant later asks about a fee, the dated list shows whether work was done and, where it was not, that the refund went out on time.

Tracking refunds with DoorKeeping

DoorKeeping marks each applicant as processed or not, and when a unit is rented it lists the applicants who paid but were never processed, so no refund is forgotten. Household members under 18 are left off the fee count. Tenants never pay a fee to DoorKeeping. Screening is passed through at cost. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute or ask a local attorney before you rely on it.

Sources

1. NRS 118A.306, Refunding of application fees; prohibition against collecting certain fees relating to minor household member (Nevada Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Is there a cap on application fees in Nevada?

NRS 118A.306 sets no amount.

When must a Nevada landlord refund an application fee?

When the unit is rented to a different prospective tenant and the landlord did not process the application or obtain the report the fee was for.

Can a Nevada landlord charge a fee for a child?

No. The statute bars application, credit report and background check fees for a minor in the prospective tenant's household.