LETTER: Las Vegas landlords aren’t running charities

As president of Southern Nevada Eviction Services, I was disappointed in Michael Scott Davidson’s article on the Nevada eviction process (June 30). Once again, landlords are being painted as the villains for requiring their tenants to comply with their lease agreements and timely pay rent.

Landlords are not tenants’ parents. They are not their means of support nor spouse nor friend nor charity. Neither Target nor supermarkets nor even the Review-Journal is required to provide free services. Why, then, are landlords?

Mr. Davidson also states that the eviction process is so fast that tenants are often “scrambling.” This is untrue. Starting on July 1, tenants will have seven business days plus weekends to pay rent, vacate the property or request a hearing after they receive a notice. Tenants are automatically guaranteed a hearing, even if they have no defense to nonpayment. They then have two additional chances to stop/delay the eviction process. In some instances, it may take weeks or months before a lockout. The only scrambling is done by the landlords trying to pay their bills.

New eviction laws went into effect starting on July 1, which make the eviction process harder for landlords and easier for tenants. These new laws help renters who don’t comply with their leases, but will likely lead to higher rents and security deposits, shorter rent due dates and higher mandatory credit score levels for everyone else. These new laws, not landlords, are the true villains.