Housing is the solution to homelessness. Re-housing and Supportive Housing programs for people experiencing homelessness cannot be taken to scale without increased inventory of affordable housing. Additionally, when Nevadans are severely rent-burdened they are at greater risk of experiencing homelessness as a result of even minor financial crises.

Improving and expanding eviction sealing processes. A single eviction can cause long-term housing instability for households, and the process to seal evictions is complex, time-consuming, and difficult for people to do while struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

Fines and Fees. Renters should not be charged fees without clear and advance notice. These fees must be authorized by law. All rent increase notices should be given in advance.

Application Fees. There are no limits to the cost of an application fee, nor a limit on how many application fees can be evaluated at a given time. Application fees should be limited to actual costs and to one fee per available unit at a time.

Protecting renters from source-of-income discrimination, including Housing Choice Voucher holders. Renters who are reliant on housing-choice vouchers, unemployment benefits, disability income or other legal sources of income may currently be denied housing based on their source of income, such as a Housing Choice Voucher. Source of income must be added as a protected class in NV Fair Housing Regulations to protect vulnerable populations from housing instability and homelessness, and to aid households with accessing housing opportunities when in receipt of rental assistance, including vouchers.

Enacting Fair-Chance Housing policy by placing reasonable limitations on how conviction history is considered on rental applications. A prior conviction should not be a life-sentence to experiencing housing instability. There are currently no limitations on what criminal background criteria landlords may use to deny rental housing in NV and there is limited transparency on the specific criteria landlords use to deny rental housing based on criminal background which can result in discrimination based on other factors. Criminal background is cited by people experiencing homelessness as a barrier to accessing housing in the annual homeless census.

Prison exit should not be a homeless entry point. Department of Corrections, Parole and Probation, and Homeless Service providers must work together to create plans to ensure those exiting prison has access to housing resources prior to prison discharge.

There is a correlation between recidivism and homelessness. Nevada has no mechanism in place to track and access data as it relates to inmates’ housing status at entry, exit, or re-entry.