Roughly 70% of American households have a pet, and in Las Vegas, that number tracks close to the national average. If you own a rental property, pets are not a hypothetical. They’re a near-certainty in your tenant pool. The question isn’t whether to allow pets, it’s how to structure the arrangement so you’re protected when a 90-pound dog destroys the carpet, a cat soaks the subfloor with urine, or a tenant shows up with a pet they never disclosed.

A pet addendum for Nevada rentals is the document that draws the line between acceptable pet ownership and damage you’ll pay for out of your own pocket. A strong one covers deposits, rent, breed and weight limits, damage responsibility, insurance, and the critical distinction between pets and Emotional Support Animals. A weak one, or worse, nothing at all, leaves you exposed. Here’s exactly what to include.

Why a Separate Pet Addendum Instead of a Lease Clause

A single line in the lease that says “pets allowed with deposit” is not a pet policy. It’s a liability gap. A separate pet addendum, attached to and incorporated by reference into the lease, gives you enforceability, specificity, and flexibility that a buried lease clause doesn’t.

• Specificity. The addendum identifies the exact pet: name, breed, weight, age, color, and vaccination status. If the tenant brings home a second dog that isn’t on the addendum, that’s a lease violation, no ambiguity.
• Enforceability. Courts enforce specific, signed agreements more readily than vague lease language. A pet addendum the tenant signed with their pet’s description on it is hard to argue around.
• Flexibility. You can update the pet addendum without rewriting the entire lease, adding a new pet, removing one that passed away, or adjusting terms at renewal.

For the broader lease framework these addenda attach to, see How to Write a Nevada Lease Agreement That Protects You.

What to Include in Your Nevada Pet Addendum

A complete pet addendum should cover every item below. Missing any one of them creates an enforcement gap:

Pet Identification

• Pet name, species, breed, color/markings, weight, and age
• Number of pets authorized (specify a maximum, typically 1-2 for most Las Vegas single-family rentals)
• Vaccination and licensing records (Clark County requires dog licensing and proof of rabies vaccination.
• Spay/neuter status (many landlords require it)

Financial Terms

• Pet deposit. A one-time refundable deposit held specifically against pet-related damage. Nevada caps total security deposits at three months’ rent under NRS 118A.242, and pet deposits count toward that limit; market standard for a pet deposit is typically $250–$500 per pet. This is refundable if no pet damage occurs.
• Pet rent. A monthly surcharge (typically $25–$75/month per pet on top of base rent. Pet rent is non-refundable ongoing income, it compensates for the increased wear pets create regardless of whether specific damage occurs.
• Non-refundable pet fee. A one-time fee that is not returned at move-out. Nevada law does not prohibit non-refundable pet fees, but the lease must explicitly state the fee is non-refundable, otherwise a court may treat it as a deposit subject to return under NRS 118A.242 

For the full legal framework on deposits and deductions, see our Complete 2026 Guide to Nevada Landlord-Tenant Laws.

Restrictions

• Breed restrictions. Many Las Vegas landlord insurance policies exclude certain breeds (commonly pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, wolf hybrids, and others. If your insurance doesn’t cover a breed, your addendum shouldn’t allow it. For the full breed-restriction picture, see My Tenant Has a Restricted Breed Dog.
• Weight limits. Common in condo and townhome HOAs. If your property’s CC&Rs cap pet weight at 25 or 40 pounds, your addendum must match.
• Number limits. Specify a maximum. Two pets is standard for most single-family rentals. More than two creates exponential wear.
• Prohibited areas. Specify where pets are and aren’t allowed, garage only, not on pool deck, not in certain rooms. This is especially relevant for properties with pools, artificial turf, or newly installed flooring.

Tenant Obligations

• Tenant must clean up waste immediately (yard and common areas)
• Pet must not create noise disturbances that violate noise ordinances or HOA rules
• Tenant is responsible for all damage caused by the pet, including damage that exceeds the pet deposit
• Tenant must maintain renter’s insurance that covers pet liability (especially for larger breeds)
• Tenant must notify landlord immediately if the pet bites someone on the property

Violation and Removal Clause

The addendum must specify what happens if the tenant violates the pet policy, unauthorized pet, restricted breed, excessive damage, or noise complaints. Standard approach: a written notice to cure the violation within a specified period (5–10 days), followed by a lease violation notice under NRS 40.2516 if not cured. In severe cases (dangerous animal, injury), immediate removal may be required. For the enforcement angle when a tenant brings in an undisclosed pet, see Can I Evict My Tenant for Unauthorized Pets?.

Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals Are Not Pets

This is the most common and most expensive mistake landlords make with pet policies. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, service animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are not pets. They are accommodations for tenants with disabilities. Your pet addendum does not apply to them, and you cannot:

• Charge a pet deposit, pet rent, or pet fee for a service animal or ESA
• Apply breed, weight, or number restrictions to a service animal or ESA (unless the specific animal has documented dangerous behavior)
• Deny housing based on a no-pets policy when a tenant has a legitimate ESA
• Ask about the tenant’s underlying disability or medical condition

What you CAN do:

• Request reliable third-party verification from a licensed healthcare provider that the tenant has a disability and the animal provides disability-related support, when the disability is not obvious
• Deny a specific animal that has a documented history of being a direct threat (based on the individual animal’s behavior, not breed)
• Hold the tenant responsible for any damage the animal causes (ESA status doesn’t waive damage liability)

Getting this wrong triggers a fair housing complaint that can cost far more than any pet damage. For the full legal framework on protected classes and accommodation requirements, see Nevada Fair Housing Laws: What Landlords Must Know.

How IRES Handles Pet Policies for You

Pet management is one of the areas where self-managing landlords create the most preventable liability, either by having no pet policy at all, by applying pet rules to ESAs (a fair housing violation), or by collecting pet deposits that aren’t properly documented and separated from the general security deposit. At IRES, our lease management service includes Nevada-compliant pet addenda for every property that allows animals, ESA accommodation handling through a documented compliance process, and move-in/move-out inspection protocols that specifically document pet-related wear versus pre-existing conditions.

Pet deposits, pet rent, and pet fees explained

One of the most useful things a pet addendum settles is the money, and Nevada owners have three distinct tools that work differently. A pet deposit is refundable, held against pet-caused damage and returned like the rest of the security deposit if the unit comes back clean, though it counts toward Nevada overall cap on what an owner can hold as a security deposit. A non-refundable pet fee is a one-time charge the owner keeps regardless, meant to cover the general wear of having an animal in the unit. Pet rent is a recurring monthly amount added to the rent for the life of the tenancy. Each has a different purpose, and a clear addendum names which ones apply and in what amount so there is no argument at move-out about what was refundable.

Documenting Pet Condition So Deposit Deductions Hold Up

A strong addendum still falls apart at move-out if you cannot prove the condition the unit was in before the animal arrived. The single most useful thing an owner can do is photograph baseboards, door corners, carpet seams, patio doors, and yard turf on the day keys are handed over, then repeat the exact same shots when the tenant leaves. Date stamped images paired with a signed move-in checklist turn a vague claim about chewed trim or pet stained carpet into a documented difference, which is what a court or a tenant attorney actually looks for. We build this paper trail through scheduled move-in and move-out property inspections on every Las Vegas and Henderson door we run, so the before and after is never a matter of memory.

Verification of the pet itself belongs in that same file. Collect the rabies certificate and, for animals inside city limits, the current license, since the City of Las Vegas animal licensing rules apply to dogs and cats over four months old even though unincorporated Clark County treats most households differently. Keeping that proof on hand protects you if a neighbor complaint or a bite report ever puts your handling of the animal under review.

• Two photo sets, move-in and move-out, from identical angles
• A signed condition checklist that names the pet and the rooms it had access to
• Current vaccination and license records stored with the lease, not loose in email

None of this works if you place the wrong tenant to begin with, which is why we vet pet owners during tenant screening and placement rather than after the damage is done. Disciplined documentation is a core piece of the way we approach full service Las Vegas property management, because a deduction you can defend with dated evidence is the only kind worth taking.

The practical choice among them depends on what an owner is trying to cover. Pet rent spreads the cost over the tenancy and tends to be the most reliable, since it is collected monthly rather than depending on a deposit that may not cover serious damage. A refundable pet deposit gives the tenant an incentive to keep the unit in good shape, since they get it back if they do. The cleanest addendums often combine modest pet rent with a clear damage standard rather than relying on a single large deposit. Whatever the structure, spelling out the exact amounts, whether each is refundable, and what counts as pet damage versus ordinary wear is what keeps the arrangement enforceable and prevents the move-out dispute that vague pet terms invite.