Are we still under the old lease?

Full question:

My roommate and I leased a house in February and signed a lease agreement. In May,the property was sold to a new owner that told us he fired the management company retained by the old owner and to send the rent monies to him directly, and he would send us a new lease to sign. We sent him the check directly for the month of June. We did not send money to the management company. The following month our financial situation took a downturn and so we decided to give a 30 day notice of int vacate which we did in writing. The new owner does not want us to leave and has hired the old management company back again and said we are still under the old lease. In the old lease, under the term clause, it states that a 30-day written notice of intent to vacate is required of the tenant prior to the expiration of this Rental Agreement. Today, we received a harassing phone call from the old management company stating that the new owner hired him back and that we are still under the old lease we signed with the old owner. And he will send a letter of response concering our notice of intent to vacate,stating that the new owner refused to let us leave and that we are responsible for the whole term regardless of our financial situation. (My ex-husband can not pay alimony because of some serious problems with the IRS which reduces my income by a third.) My questions are regarding our legal rights in this matter. Are we still under the old lease? The management company representative told us that the 30-day clause was for just the month prior to the termination date. It does not say that at all. Do we have legal grounds to leave? By receiving, and depositing our check directly, does that show that the new owner's intent was to manage his own property and that we had a month to month rental status until we signed a new lease agreement, which we have not received

• Category: Landlord Tenant
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Nevada

Answer:

To determine whether the old lease still applies to you, you should read the Nevada statutes below. If the old lease does apply to you, the provision you mentioned under the term clause stating that 'a 30-day written notice of intent to vacate is required of the tenant prior to the expiration of this Rental Agreement' would apply to the month prior to the termination date.

The applicable Nevada statutes are as follows:

118A.200

 

1. Any written agreement for the use and occupancy of a
dwelling unit or premises must be signed by the landlord or his agent and
the tenant or his agent.

 

 

2. The landlord shall provide one copy of any written agreement
described in subsection 1 to the tenant free of cost at the time the
agreement is executed and, upon request of the tenant, provide additional
copies of any such agreement to the tenant within a reasonable time. The
landlord may charge a reasonable fee for providing the additional
copies.

 

 

3. Any written rental agreement must contain, but is not limited
to, provisions relating to the following subjects:

 

 

(a) Duration of the agreement.

 

 

(b) Amount of rent and the manner and time of its payment.

 

 

(c) Occupancy by children or pets.

 

 

(d) Services included with the dwelling rental.

 

 

(e) Fees which are required and the purposes for which they are required.

 

 

(f) Deposits which are required and the conditions for their refund.

 

 

(g) Charges which may be required for late or partial payment of rent or
for return of any dishonored check.

 

 

(h) Inspection rights of the landlord.

 

 

(i) A listing of persons or numbers of persons who are to occupy the
dwelling.

 

 

(j) Respective responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant as to the
payment of utility charges.

 

 

(k) A signed record of the inventory and condition of the premises under
the exclusive custody and control of the tenant.

 

 

(l) A summary of the provisions of NRS 202.470.

 

 

(m) Information regarding the procedure pursuant to which a tenant may
report to the appropriate authorities:

 

 

(1) A nuisance.

 

 

(2) A violation of a building, safety or health code or regulation.

 

 

(n) Information regarding the right of the tenant to engage in the
display of the flag of the United States, as set forth in NRS 118A.325.

 

 

4. The absence of a written agreement raises a disputable
presumption that:

 

 

(a) There are no restrictions on occupancy by children or pets.

 

 

(b) Maintenance and waste removal services are provided without charge to
the tenant.

 

 

(c) No charges for partial or late payments of rent or for dishonored
checks are paid by the tenant.

 

 

(d) Other than normal wear, the premises will be returned in the same
condition as when the tenancy began.

 

 

5. It is unlawful for a landlord or any person authorized to enter
into a rental agreement on his behalf to use any written agreement which
does not conform to the provisions of this section, and any provision in
an agreement which contravenes the provisions of this section is void.

 

 

NRS 118A.210 Rental agreements: Payment of rent; term of tenancy.

 

 

1. Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place
agreed upon by the parties.

 

 

2. Unless the rental agreement establishes a definite term, the tenancy
is from week to week in the case of a tenant who pays weekly rent and in
all other cases the tenancy is from month to month.

 

 

3. In the absence of an agreement, either written or oral:

 

 

(a) Rent is payable at the beginning of the tenancy; and

 

 

(b) Rent for the use and occupancy of a dwelling is the fair rental
value for the use and occupancy.

 

 

NRS 118A.244 Notice or transfer of security to tenant and successor in
interest required upon transfer of dwelling unit.

 

 

1. Upon termination of the landlord's interest in the dwelling unit,
whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment of receiver or
otherwise, the landlord or his agent shall, within a reasonable time, do
one of the following, which relieves him of further liability with
respect to the security:

 

 

(a) Notify the tenant in writing of the name, address and telephone
number of his successor in interest, and that he has transferred to his
successor in interest the portion of the security remaining after making
any deductions allowed under NRS 118A.242.

 

 

(b) Return to the tenant the portion of the security remaining
after making any deductions allowed under NRS 118A.242.

 

 

The successor has the rights, obligations and liabilities of the former
landlord as to any securities which are owed under this section or NRS
118A.242 at the time of transfer.

2. The landlord shall, before he records a deed transferring any
dwelling unit:

 

 

(a) Transfer to his successor, in writing, the portion of any tenant's
security deposit or other money held by him which remains after making
any deductions allowed under NRS 118A.242; or

 

 

(b) Notify his successor in writing that he has returned all such
deposits or portions thereof to the tenant.

 

 

118A.260 1. The landlord, or any person authorized to enter into a
rental agreement on his behalf, shall disclose to the tenant in writing
at or before the commencement of the tenancy:

(a) The name and address of:

 

 

(1) The persons authorized to manage the premises;

 

 

(2) A person within this State authorized to act for and on behalf
of the landlord for the purpose of service of process and receiving notices
and demands; and

 

 

(3) The principal or corporate owner.

 

 

(b) A telephone number at which a responsible person who resides in the
county or within 60 miles of where the premises are located may be called
in case of emergency.

 

 

2. The information required to be furnished by this section must be kept
current, and this section is enforceable against any successor landlord or
manager of the premises.

 

 

3. A party who enters into a rental agreement on behalf of the landlord
and fails to comply with this section is an agent of the landlord for
purposes of:

 

 

(a) Service of process and receiving notices and demands; and

 

 

(b) Performing the obligations of the landlord under law and under the
rental agreement.

 

 

4. In any action against a landlord which involves his rental
property, service of process upon the manager of the property or a person
described in paragraph (a) of subsection 1 shall be deemed to be service
upon the landlord. The obligations of the landlord devolve upon the
persons authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his behalf.

 

 

5. This section does not limit or remove the liability of an undisclosed
landlord.

 

 

NRS 118A.270 Alternative method of disclosure.

 

 

Instead of the manner of disclosure provided in NRS 118A.260, the
landlord may:

1. In each dwelling structure containing an elevator, place a printed
or typewritten notice containing the information required by that section
in every elevator and in one other conspicuous place; or

 

 

2. In each dwelling structure not containing an elevator, place
a printed or typewritten notice containing that information in at
least two conspicuous places.

 

 

The notices shall be kept current and reasonable efforts shall be made to
maintain them in a visible position and legible condition.

NRS 118A.340 Right of tenant or cotenant to terminate lease due to
physical or mental disability or death.

 

 

1. Notwithstanding any provision in a lease of a dwelling to the
contrary, if a physical or mental condition of a tenant requires the
relocation of the tenant from his dwelling because of a need for care or
treatment that cannot be provided in the dwelling and the tenant is 60
years of age or older or has a physical or mental disability:

 

 

(a) That tenant may terminate the lease by giving the landlord
30 days' written notice within 60 days after the tenant relocates;
and

 

 

(b) A cotenant of that tenant may terminate the lease by giving the
landlord 30 days' written notice within 60 days after the tenant
relocates if:

 

 

(1) The cotenant became a tenant of the dwelling before the date on
which the lease was signed by the tenant who is relocating and the
cotenant is 60 years of age or older or has a physical or mental
disability; or

 

 

(2) The cotenant became a tenant of the dwelling on or after the date
on which the lease was signed by the tenant who is relocating.

 

 

2. Notwithstanding any provision in a lease of a dwelling to the
contrary, upon the death of the spouse or cotenant of:

 

 

(a) A tenant who is 60 years of age or older; or

 

 

(b) A tenant who has a physical or mental disability,

 

the tenant may terminate the lease by giving the landlord 60 days'
written notice within 3 months after the death.

 

 

3. The written notice provided to a landlord pursuant to subsection 1
or 2 must set forth the facts which demonstrate that the tenant or
cotenant is entitled to terminate the lease. If the tenant or cotenant is
terminating the lease pursuant to subsection 1, the tenant or cotenant
shall include reasonable verification:

 

 

(a) Of the existence of the physical or mental condition of the
tenant; and

 

 

(b) That the physical or mental condition requires the relocation of
the tenant from his dwelling because of a need for care or treatment that
cannot be provided in the dwelling.

 

 

4. This section does not give a landlord the right to terminate
a lease solely because of the death of one of the tenants.

 

 

5. As used in this section, cotenant means a tenant who, pursuant to a
lease, is entitled to occupy a dwelling that another tenant who is 60
years of age or older or who has a physical or mental disability is also
entitled to occupy pursuant to the same lease.

 

 

NRS 118A.410 Failure of landlord to disclose required information to
tenant.

 

 

After a demand by the tenant, if a landlord fails to disclose as provided
in NRS 118A.260 or NRS 118A.270, the tenant may recover actual damages or
$25, whichever is greater.