The Las Vegas residential real estate market and Vegas rental market have been experiencing market disruptions since the onset of the pandemic. Here are a few of the contributing factors: 1) pandemic resulting in high demand due to an influx of people moving to Vegas 2) Government interference limiting supply with eviction moratoriums/foreclosure forbearances 3) former housing cycle limiting supply due to low inventory of new homes built 2007–2016 and 4) institutional investors focusing on the SFR asset class.

Institutional Investors

The institutional investors have been swarming our market with cash offers to get their hands on houses under $400k to capitalize on strong demand and low supply in the Vegas rental market. Here’s an article that references the billions and billions of dollars being pushed into this asset class typically reserved for accidental landlords and mom and pop investors.

Las Vegas is experiencing very low inventory for single family rentals and, as a result, rent rates have drastically increased over the last 3-6 months. We have seen about a 20-25% increase in market rent rates from just 12 months ago. There is also very low inventory of single-family homes for sale with a lot of cash buyers competing at the entry level price point driving sales prices up and forcing potential buyers to seek the rental market instead.

Recent Legislative Changes Impacting Property Management

In addition, there have been recent legislative changes that have impacted property management in Nevada. AB308 Impacts “increase of rent” notices: for a periodic tenancy of 1 month or more, 60 days in advance of the first rental payment to be increased (up from 45). AB141: seals eviction records for evictions for nonpayment of rent during the COVID-19 emergency, not the sealing of all evictions during the emergency. AB486 (set to expire June 5^th, 2023!) states that for all evictions, except “nuisance” evictions, the tenant can claim as a defense that they have applied for rental assistance. The court must stay the eviction proceeding until CHAPS rules on the application.

Due to AB308 lease renewal offers need to be mailed to Tenants earlier than in year’s past. If notice of change of terms of rental agreement is not provided 60 days prior to lease expiration the Las Vegas Association of Realtors lease automatically converts to a month-to-month tenancy at the current rent rate.

Lease Renewals in 2022-2023

There are definite benefits to pricing lease renewals correctly to incentivize high quality, long-term Tenants to remain in place.

Pricing a rental property correctly is an important factor in the long-term success of your investment. There is a balance needed between attaining the highest rent rate and attracting/keeping highly qualified long-term tenants. There are always higher risk renters that will pay a premium out of desperation to secure a rental home. While this higher rent rate can be attractive from a short-term perspective the long-term costs of not placing/keeping qualified tenants can far exceed the financial benefit of the extra rent.

With landlord’s rights being impacted by government policy it is very important to secure and maintain highly qualified tenants. I have always placed a strong emphasis on approving quality tenants, and because of this, our company has experienced 100% rent collection in the Vegas rental market during the pandemic. In addition, we have never had to evict a tenant we’ve screened and placed into a managed rental property.

Request a sample lease renewal form a Property Owner/Property Manager would mail to an existing Tenant in the Vegas rental market. The form offers Tenants the option to extend their lease for another year or stay month-to-month.