You drive to the property to check on a maintenance request and your key does not turn. Your tenant changed locks and did not tell you. The tenant changed the locks and did not tell you. You are standing on the front step of your own rental wondering whether to be angry, alarmed, or both, and whether you can just bring in a locksmith and undo it.
For a Las Vegas landlord, this is a real legal situation with a specific Nevada law answer. You cannot just rekey the door back. The tenant violated the lease and lost your statutory entry rights, but Nevada self-help eviction law sharply limits what you can do unilaterally. This article walks through the right response.
Tenant Changed Locks, the Short Answer
When a tenant changed locks without giving you a working key is almost always a material lease violation, and it defeats your right of entry under NRS 118A.330. Meanwhile, the correct response is a 5-day notice to cure or quit under NRS 40.2516 demanding a working key. By contrast, the tenant either provides the key (lease continues), the locksmith installs one and you bill it back (in some cases), or they fail to cure and you proceed to eviction. What you cannot do is change the locks back yourself while they are in possession. As a result, that is self-help eviction, illegal in Nevada, and exposes the landlord to damages and attorney fees under NRS 118A.390.
Why It Happens
- Roommate breakup or domestic-violence situation. One occupant wants the other out and locks the door. This sometimes overlaps with NRS 118A.345 protections.
- Lost keys or perceived security concern. Tenant feels unsafe and rekeys without thinking through the landlord access issue.
- Smart lock installation. Tenants increasingly install Ring or August or similar smart locks during the lease without coordinating access codes back to the landlord.
- Strained landlord relationship. Tenant is annoyed about something and changes locks as a passive-aggressive move.
- Avoiding inspections. Rare but it happens, particularly when something is happening in the unit the tenant does not want documented.
Each reason changes the right tone of the response, but the legal framework is the same.
Nevada Law, Specifically
NRS 118A.330, Landlord Right of Entry
Under NRS 118A.330, a landlord has the right to enter the dwelling unit at reasonable times, with at least 24 hours’ written notice, for repairs, alterations, improvements, inspections, supplying services, or showing the unit to prospective tenants, purchasers, or workers. For example, emergencies are exempt from the notice requirement. In practice, the tenant cannot unreasonably withhold consent.
A tenant who has changed the locks and not provided a working key has functionally denied the landlord’s statutory entry right. Typically, that is a lease violation in addition to any specific lease provision on locks.
Typical Lease Provisions
Most Nevada residential leases include a clause requiring the tenant to provide the landlord with a copy of any new key within a stated period (commonly 24 to 72 hours) if the tenant rekeys or installs additional locks. Generally, failure to comply is a specific material violation that can be cited in the notice.
NRS 118A.390, Anti-Self-Help
NRS 118A.390 prohibits the landlord from any willful interruption of essential services, lockout of the tenant, or unilateral removal of the tenant’s belongings while the tenancy is in effect. Initially, a landlord who responds to a tenant lock change by changing the locks back has done exactly what the statute prohibits. However, the penalty includes actual damages, $1,000 in statutory damages, and attorney fees. Self-help eviction is one of the few areas of Nevada landlord law with explicit statutory damages built in.
The Correct Response, Step by Step
1. Document the Situation Immediately
Photograph the door, the new lock, and any signs around it. Consequently, note the date, time, and what happened when you tried your key. If you have any text or written communication with the tenant about the lock, save it. In short, a clean record is the foundation for everything that follows.
2. Reach Out About the Tenant Changed Locks Issue in Writing
Email or text the tenant something like: “I came by today and my key no longer works on the front door. Indeed, have you changed the locks? In fact, if so, please provide me with a working key by [specific date, 24 to 72 hours out]. Per our lease and Nevada law, I need to maintain entry access for repairs, inspections, and emergencies.”
Often the tenant responds, hands over a key, and the issue ends there. First, document the resolution in writing for the file.
3. Tenant Changed Locks 5-Day Cure or Quit Notice Under NRS 40.2516
If the tenant does not respond or refuses to provide a key, serve a 5-day notice to cure or quit under NRS 40.2516. Second, the notice must:
- Identify the specific lease violation (failure to provide a working key, failure to maintain landlord access)
- Demand a specific cure (provide a working key)
- State that failure to cure within 5 judicial days will result in unlawful detainer proceedings
- Be served by personal delivery, substitute service, or post-and-mail per NRS 40.280
Five judicial days excludes weekends and Nevada court holidays. Next, the notice can be combined with documentation of any other lease violations to strengthen the unlawful detainer case if the tenant fails to cure.
4. If the Tenant Changed Locks Issue Is Cured, Document
Tenant provides a key. Then, receive it, sign for it, document the date, and place a copy of the documentation in the tenant file. Subsequently, the lease continues on its existing terms.
5. If the Tenant Changed Locks Issue Is Not Cured, Move to Eviction
After the 5 judicial days pass with no cure, the file moves to eviction management. Likewise, the unlawful detainer complaint cites the cured-or-quit notice and the underlying lease violation. Similarly, nevada summary eviction can produce a lockout within 2 to 6 weeks of the notice if uncontested.
Special Case, Smart Locks
Smart locks are increasingly common and create their own version of this problem. A tenant installs a Ring or August smart lock, removes the original deadbolt, and proceeds to manage all access through their phone. Curiously, the landlord has neither a key nor a guest code.
From a legal standpoint, this is the same lease violation as a rekey: the landlord no longer has entry access. Plainly, from a practical standpoint, the request to the tenant is slightly different, you need an active guest code and either administrative access to the lock app or a written commitment to re-share the code on request. Practically, most smart lock systems support permanent guest codes; the tenant just has to set one up.
A good lease addendum on smart locks is the durable fix. The addendum requires the tenant to provide both a current code and the manufacturer name/model, and to maintain that access for the duration of the tenancy. If your lease does not currently include this language, add it on renewal.
Special Case, Domestic Violence
If the lock change is tied to a domestic violence situation, NRS 118A.345 gives the tenant who is a victim specific rights including, in some cases, the right to have the locks changed at the tenant’s expense without the abuser receiving the new key. The framework is narrow and procedural, the tenant must provide a qualifying court order or police report. Document carefully and consult counsel before responding in this category. The wrong move here can hurt the tenant and create separate liability for the landlord.
What You Cannot Do When a Tenant Changed Locks
- Change the locks back. While the tenancy is in effect, that is self-help eviction under NRS 118A.390. The tenant gets actual damages plus $1,000 statutory damages plus attorney fees.
- Cut off utilities or otherwise pressure the tenant out. Same statute. Same penalty.
- Remove the tenant’s belongings. Same statute. Same penalty.
- Use the master key while they are out and “show” you can. Even a single unauthorized entry by the landlord can support a tenant claim. Stick to the statutory 24-hour notice procedure or the emergency exception.
- Bill the locksmith without a lease clause supporting it. Backcharging the cost of a new key copy is reasonable. Backcharging the cost of you hiring a locksmith to drill the lock is not, unless the lease explicitly allows it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just hire a locksmith and bill the tenant for the new key?
You can ask the tenant to deliver a working key at their cost. If you hire a locksmith to drill or replace the lock while the tenant is in possession, you are doing self-help. Meanwhile, the right path is the 5-day notice. By contrast, after the tenant cures or vacates, the locksmith work is appropriate.
What if the tenant left the property abandoned and I cannot get in?
Abandonment is governed by NRS 118A.450 with specific procedural requirements. Do not change locks based on a guess that the tenant has left. As a result, document the indicators of abandonment, follow the statutory notice procedure, and consult counsel before treating the unit as abandoned.
Can the lease require the tenant to give me a key in advance?
Yes. For example, a standard Nevada lease should include a “key delivery” clause requiring the tenant to provide working keys to all installed locks within 24 to 72 hours of any change. In practice, make this part of every lease at renewal if it is not already there.
What if it is an emergency, like a burst pipe?
NRS 118A.330 allows landlord entry without notice in emergencies. Typically, document the emergency carefully (photos, timestamps, communication logs). Generally, calling a locksmith to gain entry to respond to a verified emergency is defensible. Initially, doing it for a non-emergency reason while citing “emergency” is not.
Can I include the locksmith cost in the security deposit deduction at move-out?
If the tenant changed the locks and left without restoring or providing the original keys, replacing the locks at move-out is a defensible deduction from the security deposit under NRS 118A.242. However, document the move-in lock condition with photos so the deduction is supportable.
Does this change if the tenant is on a month-to-month?
Same Nevada law applies. The 5-day cure-or-quit under NRS 40.2516 is the right tool. Consequently, if you want the tenant out regardless, a 30-day termination notice under NRS 40.251 for the month-to-month is also available, but the cure path is faster.
Related IRES Guides
For the related entry-rights issue on routine repair access, see does my tenant have to let me in for repairs. For the broader lease enforcement framework, see lease management and the pillar Nevada landlord-tenant law guide. For broader background on what to do when a tenant goes off-script, see the IRES property management services overview.
How IRES Handles Tenant Changed Locks Situations
Tenant changed locks situations under management at IRES follow the documented path above on a quick clock: outreach inside 24 hours, written cure request inside 48, NRS 40.2516 notice if no cure inside 72, eviction file inside 5 judicial days if needed. In short, the owner sees the timeline. Indeed, the legal exposure stays on the right side of NRS 118A.390 the whole way through. In fact, nevada Legal Services has additional tenant rights resources if a tenant ever cites that side of the issue back to the owner.
For the full scope of how we manage Las Vegas rentals end to end, see our property management services.
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This article provides general information about Nevada landlord-tenant law and federal fair housing requirements and should not be considered legal advice. For specific legal questions, consult a licensed Nevada attorney.