Being Evicted By Hotel in Nevada

[jek1877593]

What is the name of your state?Nevada
This is not your "average" eviction situation, I don't think. My wife and I are being evicted from our room here in Nevada(Carson City) due to a noise complaint. I have not been able to secure legal representation. I am low income, but have substantial savings, and cannot qualify for legal aid, nor can I afford the services of a private attorney, so I have to go it alone so far, which I HATE doing, but have no choice, unless I can find some representation. All I have done is chatted with lawyers on Just Answer, which has been somewhat helpful and then found this site to maybe ask some questions.
Some background: I am 60 and disabled. My wife is 90 and infirmed. I found out that, due to the length of our stay, 10 continuous months, we are considered "legal tenants" of the Hotel, and therefore entitled to the same rights as tenants, here in Nevada. Most states seem to follow this law. We tried to work with Management and even contacted the Owner of the Hotel, and promised to abate the noise, but they decided to proceed with the eviction anyway. We received first a couple of weeks ago, a 5 day notice to tenant to terminate tenancy-at-will. We let that expire and now we are in the middle of the Unlawful Detainer, which we have 8 judicial days to respond to, since it was posted. I am now into day 6 of this, and need to file something with the Court by next Tue. the 22nd at the latest, or be in danger of a summary court ordered eviction and being removed immediately. Due to our being low income on social security and disability, we have been unable to find alternate housing despite calling virtually every hotel/motel in the area and apartments, etc. This is a rather high priced area. So we are forced to continue to stay here. There "appears" to be a provision in the law whereby we can request an additional 30 days to stay, based on our age and disability, but there is some confusion over this. We already did request this from the landlord, who refused, but the law here allows us to petition the Court for the same thing. But being a non-lawyer, I don't want to request something we may not be entitled to. Plus, I am in confusion over just what exactly our "tenancy" here is. We were served with a notice for "tenancy at will", but that doesn't seem to apply. We pay regular rent, and a tenancy at will usually does not involve payment of rent. Also, this is a for cause eviction, a violation of hotel rules, so I think we should have been serviced with a "nuisance" eviction notice and given the chance to "correct" it(stop the noise), but we were not given that. It is hard for me to believe we may have been served with the wrong eviction notice initially, but I read if so, the Judge could throw out the whole eviction, or force the landlord to start the process over. So I really need an answer to this. Again, a lawyer to talk to would be best, but I can't find one!! Which is extremely frustrating. I do plan to at least contest the eviction with a tenant's affidavit to ask for a hearing before the Judge to try and see if we can be granted more time. We may have a legal defenses or defenses to the eviction but again, a lawyer
would be best to help us in this complex situation. I am afraid I am going to make a mistake or miss something, being a non-lawyer being forced to go it alone, and read all this stuff off the internet and just hope it is right and I interpret it correctly. Any help or comments on our legal situation would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state?Nevada
This is not your "average" eviction situation, I don't think. My wife and I are being evicted from our room here in Nevada(Carson City) due to a noise complaint. I have not been able to secure legal representation. I am low income, but have substantial savings, and cannot qualify for legal aid, nor can I afford the services of a private attorney, so I have to go it alone so far, which I HATE doing, but have no choice, unless I can find some representation. All I have done is chatted with lawyers on Just Answer, which has been somewhat helpful and then found this site to maybe ask some questions.
Some background: I am 60 and disabled. My wife is 90 and infirmed. I found out that, due to the length of our stay, 10 continuous months, we are considered "legal tenants" of the Hotel, and therefore entitled to the same rights as tenants, here in Nevada. Most states seem to follow this law. We tried to work with Management and even contacted the Owner of the Hotel, and promised to abate the noise, but they decided to proceed with the eviction anyway. We received first a couple of weeks ago, a 5 day notice to tenant to terminate tenancy-at-will. We let that expire and now we are in the middle of the Unlawful Detainer, which we have 8 judicial days to respond to, since it was posted. I am now into day 6 of this, and need to file something with the Court by next Tue. the 22nd at the latest, or be in danger of a summary court ordered eviction and being removed immediately. Due to our being low income on social security and disability, we have been unable to find alternate housing despite calling virtually every hotel/motel in the area and apartments, etc. This is a rather high priced area. So we are forced to continue to stay here. There "appears" to be a provision in the law whereby we can request an additional 30 days to stay, based on our age and disability, but there is some confusion over this. We already did request this from the landlord, who refused, but the law here allows us to petition the Court for the same thing. But being a non-lawyer, I don't want to request something we may not be entitled to. Plus, I am in confusion over just what exactly our "tenancy" here is. We were served with a notice for "tenancy at will", but that doesn't seem to apply. We pay regular rent, and a tenancy at will usually does not involve payment of rent. Also, this is a for cause eviction, a violation of hotel rules, so I think we should have been serviced with a "nuisance" eviction notice and given the chance to "correct" it(stop the noise), but we were not given that. It is hard for me to believe we may have been served with the wrong eviction notice initially, but I read if so, the Judge could throw out the whole eviction, or force the landlord to start the process over. So I really need an answer to this. Again, a lawyer to talk to would be best, but I can't find one!! Which is extremely frustrating. I do plan to at least contest the eviction with a tenant's affidavit to ask for a hearing before the Judge to try and see if we can be granted more time. We may have a legal defenses or defenses to the eviction but again, a lawyer
would be best to help us in this complex situation. I am afraid I am going to make a mistake or miss something, being a non-lawyer being forced to go it alone, and read all this stuff off the internet and just hope it is right and I interpret it correctly. Any help or comments on our legal situation would be appreciated. Thanks.

Please define "substantial savings"...how much are you talking about? Why can you not dip into this savings to secure permanent housing? What was the noise complaint? Radio? Yelling? T.V.?

 

[adjusterjack]

I am not a lawyer. I don't give legal advice. I just make helpful comments that are worth what you pay for them. If you act on any of my comments you do so at your own risk.

The first thing I needed to find out was the definition of "tenancy at will." Nevada appears to treat "tenancy at will" differently than other states.

In my search I found the definition at the Nevada Civil Self-Help Center website. There is a very good explanation so I won't quote anything here. Study it.

Tenancy-At-Will Notices - Civil Law Self-Help Center (civillawselfhelpcenter.org)

That you have lived there for 10 months, with the consent of the owner, and (I presume) paid rent periodically based on some agreement either written or oral, would indicate that you are a month-to-month tenant and that the 5 day notice was improper.

I haven't found a statutory definition but the case of Baker v Simonds, in a round about way, says what a tenancy-at-will isn't.

Baker v. Simonds, 386 P. 2d 86 - Nev: Supreme Court 1963 - Google Scholar

While you are on the Self-Help Center site note the tab for Community Resources. Check the resources listed.

Another reason that the 5 day notice might be improper is due to the method by which it was served.

NRS 40.280 requires such notice to be served by " the sheriff, a constable, a person who is licensed as a process server." Looks pretty strict to me.

Nevada Revised Statutes § 40.280 (2020) - Service of notices to surrender; proof required before issuance of order to remove or writ of restitution. :: 2020 Nevada Revised Statutes :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia

NRS 40.251 addresses the required notice for various types of tenancies as well as a disabled person's right to an extended period of time.

Nevada Revised Statutes § 40.251 (2020) - Unlawful detainer: Possession of property leased for indefinite time after notice to surrender; older person or person with a disability entitled to extension of period of possession upon request; federal worker, tribal worker, state worker or household member of such worker may request extension of period of possession. :: 2020 Nevada Revised Statutes :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia

I can't tell you how to answer the complaint. That would be legal advice. You'll have to make use of the above information as best you can.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[cbg]

With regards to legal help, I don't know if there are any law schools in the Carson City area but if there are (University of Nevada at Reno, perhaps?) many law schools will have "clinics" where third year law students, under guidance of their professors, can offer free or low cost consultations.

 

[xylene]

Given your wife's condition and age, you should reach out to social services.