MINUTES OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Sixty-seventh Session
June 29, 1993
The Senate Committee on Judiciary was called to order by Chairman Mark A. James, at 2:45 p.m., on Monday, June 28, 1993, in Room 238 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. The meeting was held at the call of the chair; there is no Meeting Agenda and no Attendance Roster.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Mark A. James, Chairman
Senator R. Hal Smith, Vice Chairman
Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen
Senator Mike McGinness
Senator Dina Titus
Senator Raymond C. Shaffer
Senator Ernest E. Adler
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Assemblyman William A. Petrak, Clark County Assembly District No. 18
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dennis Neilander, Senior Research Analyst
Marilyn Hofmann, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Mark Brown, Nevada State Apartment Association
Vicki Morley, Bigelow Management, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada
Neil Dexter, Ty-Dee Management Company, Las Vegas, Nevada
Ray Rodriguez, Nevada Legal Services, Carson City, Nevada
Ernest Nielsen, Nevada Legal Services, Reno, Nevada
Barbara Buckley, Nevada Legal Services, Las Vegas, Nevada
Nancy Palini, Executive Director, Project Restart, Reno, Nevada.
Thelma Clark, Nevada Seniors Coalition
The chairman announced the purpose of the meeting was to take testimony on Assembly Bill (A.B.) 687.
ASSEMBLY BILL 687: Lessens length of notice to quit for certain short-term tenancies.
ASSEMBLY BILL 325: Makes various changes to procedure for summary eviction of tenant.
The first persons to appear were Mark Brown, representing the Nevada State Apartment Association, Vicki Morley, representing Bigelow Management, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada, and Neil Dexter, Ty-Dee Management Company, Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Brown indicated the issue involved in A.B. 687 came to light during testimony in the assembly on Assembly Bill (A.B.) 325, a bill introduced to deal with some perceived problems with the summary eviction procedure. He said the "weekly apartment industry" has a unique problem, since under the current eviction-notice procedure, "certain tenants can come in, pay a week's rent and then by not paying the rent subsequent to that, can end up staying an additional couple of weeks."
Mr. Dexter said the demand for weekly apartment rentals "is generated in part by people relocating to Nevada who need a furnished apartment to establish residency." He added there are persons who cannot afford high deposits and moving costs, "...nor can they accumulate enough to pay their rent once each month." Mr. Dexter said this industry also serves people who have temporary employment in Las Vegas and need a place to rent for a few weeks. He said the hotels and motels do not wish to accommodate the persons described above, "because it is more profitable to rent their rooms to tourists."
Mr. Dexter stated:
There is an ever-increasing amount of people skipping out on their rent. The current 5-day Notice to Pay or Quit, coupled with the court system, often leads to people being able to pay the first week's rent, then staying 2 or 3 weeks basically rent free, while they effectively work the system...these losses are coming totally out of our pockets.
Mr. Dexter said a 2-day Notice to Pay or Quit would be fairer to all concerned. He said many properties are faced with having to increase rents, hurting the good residents "to pay for the few bad ones."
Mr. Dexter stated, "The opponents of this bill will say the bill will lead to increased homelessness...this is pure nonsense." He said he believes "substance abuse, gambling and job loss are the main causes of people losing their residences...they quite simply blow their paycheck and create their own problems."
Ms. Morley said Bigelow Management wished to express support for A.B. 687. She said the company "offers a professionally operated and much-needed product which is quite different from a monthly rental or apartment community." Ms. Morley said this product is offered to mid-or lower-income people. She continued to say they have quality, short-term housing which is attractive to residents who are new to Las Vegas and need comfortable, temporary living conditions. Ms. Morley stated advantages to this type of rental include no deposits nor move-in costs, such as payment of first and last month's rent. She stated, "A 1-week payment up front allows these people to move in and pay in weekly increments from that time forward." Ms. Morley said they provide a television, telephone, furniture and pay for water and electric service.
Ms. Morley stated the weekly apartment rental market "requires a separate eviction procedure." She said they have no security deposit to fall back on. She reiterated it currently takes 2 to 2 1/2 weeks to evict a resident. Ms. Morley said a 2-day notice will shorten that time by approximately 3 days, which in their business is quite a bit of time, considering they rent in weekly increments.
Senator James asked Ms. Morley why they did not require a deposit or the use of a credit card, such as is done in motels or hotels. Ms. Morley answered, "Many of these people are one step from being homeless, and the harder we make it for them...the more of an issue we are going to have to face with homeless people." She added they "work with as many of our residents as we possibly can...if they have a problem...."
Senator James asked if the notice required personal service. Ms. Morley answered there were three types of service, i.e., personal service, posting and certified mail, and service on a resident of the apartment over the age of 14 years. She indicated a landlord could use whichever type of service he or she chose, but added Bigelow Management attempts to use personal service unless it cannot be accomplished. Senator James said with a 2-day notice which could not be personally service and was mailed, "there is a good chance it would not get there at all." Senator James then asked Ms. Morley if the company had any objection to being required to attempt personal service prior to other methods, and Ms. Morley answered, "Not at all...we do that now."
Ms. Morley demonstrated to the committee with a chart how long it actually takes to evict a tenant, including a court filing, a court date and the actual eviction by a constable. Senator James asked Ms. Morley to explain the actual effect of a 5-day notice. She indicated this was notice to the tenant that the rent must be paid or they will have to leave; and that they have 5 days to leave or a court action will be filed. Ms. Morley indicated the entire process still takes approximately 20 days. Senator James pointed to the "self-help" provisions of the statute, after an order has been entered, the landlord may "in a peaceable manner provide for the nonadmittance of the tenant."
Ms. Morley stated they would take payment from the tenant all the way up to the date the constable would lock them out. Senator Adler established that the tenant would receive notice and could file an affidavit which causes a court hearing to be scheduled. He said if for some reason they did not receive the notice, the constable would move to evict the tenant after the order is signed. Mr. Dexter stressed, "We don't have the right to lock them out after 2 days..."
Senator Adler said he was very sensitive as to "what can go wrong with these things," if a person does not receive a notice.
Senator Adler asked that someone from legal services could approach the committee to discuss the other side of the issue. Appearing were Ray Rodriguez, Nevada Legal Services in Carson City, Ernest Nielsen, Nevada Legal Services in Reno, and Barbara Buckley from Nevada Legal Services in Las Vegas. Also appearing was Nancy Palini, Executive Director, Project Restart, Reno, Nevada.
Ms. Palini stated she would like to dispute the statement that the 2-day notice would not impact homelessness. She said it will impact homelessness because if the time period is shortened, and the tenant does not file an affidavit for an appeal, there will be an increase in the number of families becoming homeless. Ms. Palini said she works with a number of service providers who work directly and indirectly with low-income families. She appealed to the committee to leave the 5-day notice as it stands.
Mr. Rodriguez described the current 5-day notice as "the shortest time frame in the west for evictions...people are now asking to reduce that to 2 days." He said the legal service organizations believe "that is way too short." Mr. Rodriguez continued, "Assuming there was not dispute and assuming someone was personally served, one might argue that is a sufficient amount of time." He said their main concern is a situation which involves the posting and mailing of the notice. Mr. Rodriguez added, "There is a real possibility people will be evicted without any notice whatsoever...if that notice blows away...and that person receives the notice in the mail one day late...that person is out on the street."
Ms. Buckley indicated she was "very familiar with Bigelow Management" and could relate some experiences she has had with the company. She also stressed if an affidavit is not filed by the tenant within the time prescribed, "...that tenant is virtually precluded from getting their day in court...they cannot raise any defenses that they have against the landlord." Ms. Buckley presented affidavits from persons who have been evicted from apartments managed by Bigelow Management to the committee. They are collectively set forth herein as Exhibit A.. She also presented a copy of a newspaper article involving an eviction, which is included as Exhibit B. Ms. Buckley indicated Bigelow "was not even complying with the current law," and added she has represented 9 other people who were "illegally locked out by Bigelow." She continued, "If one of the main proponents of the bill is assuring us that the tenants will get notice...it is just not good enough." Ms. Buckley said personal service should be a requirement and there should be an exclusion for people who have lived in the apartment for more than 30 days, are social security recipients or mothers with children.
Ms. Buckley made several other points:
Under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 118A, the provisions of chapter 40 of the NRS are modified. NRS 118A says you cannot peaceably lock someone out if you are a landlord...
It does not take 18 days for an eviction process. Justice Court in Las Vegas has initiated a 48-hour hearing policy.
Ms. Buckley stated, "With a 5-day notice, the tenant has time to get it in the mail...they go down to the court and apply for a hearing...the danger is with only 2 days, they won't know to go down and get a hearing." She said they are especially worried about those tenants with "legitimate defenses."
The next person to speak was Assemblyman William A. Petrak, Clark County Assembly District No. 18. Mr. Petrak said his district contains many of the large apartment complexes with weekly rental arrangements. He said he had discussed this matter with many of the apartment managers and found there was a problem with persons "using the apartment for 3 weeks without paying a penny for rent." Mr. Petrak said that was an injustice to the people living in the apartments permanently, as well as to the apartment owners. He supported the concept of a 2-day notice.
Senator James asked about the constitutionality of the legislation, and whether due process would be effected in every case. Mr. Nielsen responded a case in Kentucky was held to be constitutional several years ago.
Mr. Nielsen also pointed out NRS 118A does not apply to those persons living in weekly rentals in motels. He said there could be "self-help" lockouts for the owners of those motels. Mr. Nielsen said there were two industries involved in this matter, "(1) an intentional weekly rental industry; and (2) motels which are unintentionally being used as weekly rentals." He said a "short notice situation like this" which does not give the social service agencies a chance to respond... is adding insult to injury."
Mr. Brown said an important point was being missed, i.e., "There is no legal defense for not paying your rent...you either pay it or you don't." He said the residents of the properties in question know their rent is due at a certain point in time. Mr. Brown continued, "If there are legitimate cases [for nonpayment] the apartment owners are very cooperative."
The next person to speak was Thelma Clark, Nevada Seniors Coalition. She asked if section 1 of A.B. 687 referred to 30-day rentals as well as weekly rentals. Senator James confirmed the bill only applied to rentals of 1 week or less.
Senator Titus stated, "It seems like this is an industry that takes advantage of people in certain situations...persons that are forced to rent from week-to-week because of financial situations." She added, "While taking advantage of that population, they want to come back and put restrictions that will take even greater advantage of them." Senator Titus said she would not support passage of the bill.
Senator Adler said he also had a problem with the bill because of the mailing problems and also would not support the legislation.
Senator James reiterated earlier statements that the tenants have adequate time to exercise their rights. He suggested if the bill were to be passed, it should be amended to require personal service. The chairman said only in cases where personal service absolutely cannot be effectuated, should a posting and mailing be done. He said he would support the bill if that amendment were added. Mr. Rodriguez indicated there was an amendment proposed which would require personal service of a 2-day notice; if personal service could not be done, the time would extend an additional 3 days. He said that would put the burden on the landlord to serve the person as quickly as possible, if the landlord wanted the tenant out immediately.
Ms. Buckley referred to NRS 118A.490 which states if a landlord owes a tenant money, because that landlord illegally turned off the utilities or locked the tenant out, it is a defense to nonpayment of rent.
Ms. Morley responded to Senator Titus's earlier statement regarding a landlord taking advantage of people in financial difficulty. She stated, "What if we take our product off the market...or we do require payment of deposits...that is going to make the homeless situation worse, because they are going to be living on the streets." Ms. Morley said their properties were only 4 years old and were in very nice condition. She concluded, "There is no way we can continue to pay $67 every time we have to go down and file on someone...when we only have 1 week's rent from them."
Senator Titus stated a compromise may be appropriate, but added, "I don't see what you are suggesting as a compromise...saying first you try to do it personally...then you send a letter. That is not any different than what it is now." She indicated a better compromise would be what was suggested by Mr. Rodriguez, i.e., a personal service requirement regarding a 2-day notice; if personal service could not
be done, the time would extend an additional 3 days to allow for mailing.
Ms. Morley stated, "Everybody on the property will understand they can do this...all they have to do is not answer the door...it will spread like wildfire...we are not accomplishing a thing." She concluded, "If we have a 2-day notice and we are strict...the message is going to be clear...pay your rent...." Ms. Buckley reiterated a 2-day notice would violate due process of law.
SENATOR MCGINNESS MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 687.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATOR TITUS AND SENATOR ADLER VOTED NO. SENATOR SMITH ABSTAINED FROM VOTING.)
* * * * *
The chairman opened a work session on Assembly Bill (A.B.) 612 and Assembly Bill (A.B.) 244.
ASSEMBLY BILL 612: Revises Uniform Common-Interest Ownership Act.
Following an explanation of the amendments to the bill, the chairman explained he had discussed the legislation in detail with Assemblyman Robert Sader who had worked with persons representing developers and homeowners associations. He said he and Mr. Sader reached what they felt was a "good balance on all issues...protecting the rights of the homeowners associations during a time when the developer is trying to phase out ownership of property...." The chairman indicated he was comfortable with the final result.
SENATOR SMITH MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 612.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS SHAFFER, MCGINNESS AND ADLER WERE ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
* * * * *
ASSEMBLY BILL 244: Makes identifying information concerning victim of sexual assault confidential.
Senator James indicated a compromise had been reached with Assembly-woman Chris Giunchigliani on the amendments to the bill. He asked for a motion to not recede from the senate amendments.
SENATOR TITUS MOVED TO NOT RECEDE FROM SENATE AMENDMENTS TO A.B. 244.
SENATOR JACOBSEN SECONDED THE MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED. (SENATORS ADLER, SHAFFER AND MCGINNESS WERE ABSENT FOR THE VOTE.)
* * * * *
There was no further business to come before the committee and the hearing was adjourned.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Marilyn Hofmann,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Mark A. James, Chairman
DATE:
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Senate Committee on Judiciary
June 29, 1993
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