1. The tax receiver of a county may elect to use an expedited procedure for the sale of a property on which delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs have not been paid if, after an investigation, the tax receiver:
(a) Determines that the property is abandoned pursuant to the criteria set forth in subsection 6; and
(b) Complies with the requirements of this section.
2. If a tax receiver of a county has a reasonable belief that property on which delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs have not been paid is abandoned, the tax receiver or his or her designee may inspect the property to determine whether it is abandoned in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection 6. The tax receiver or his or her designee and any employee of the tax receiver or his or her designee may enter the property, but may not enter any dwelling or structure, to perform an inspection pursuant to this subsection, and the tax receiver, his or her designee and any employee of the tax receiver or his or her designee who enters a property pursuant to this subsection is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission on the property, not amounting to gross negligence, or for trespass.
3. If, after an inspection pursuant to subsection 2, the tax receiver determines that the property is abandoned in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection 6, the tax receiver shall serve a notice by certified and first-class mail to the owner or owners of the property providing that unless the owner or owners of the real property contact the tax receiver within 30 days after service of the notice, the property will be determined to be abandoned and the tax receiver may seek an expedited procedure for the sale of the property. In addition to providing service by mail, the tax receiver shall cause the same notice to be published:
(a) At least once in the newspaper which publishes the list of taxpayers pursuant to NRS 361.300 or, if there is no newspaper in the county, by posting the notice in at least five conspicuous places within the county;
(b) On an Internet website that is maintained by the county treasurer or, if the county treasurer does not maintain an Internet website, on an Internet website maintained by the county; and
(c) By posting the notice in a conspicuous place of the property.
4. If, within 30 days after service of the notice pursuant to subsection 3, a property owner:
(a) Fails to respond to the notice, the tax receiver must determine the property to be abandoned.
(b) Submits a written objection to the determination of the tax receiver that the property is abandoned, the tax receiver must conduct a review of the property and issue a decision on whether to uphold the original determination that the property is abandoned. A person who is aggrieved by a determination of the tax receiver pursuant to this paragraph may, within 30 days after the person receives notice of the determination, commence an action for judicial review of the determination in district court for the county in which the property is located.
5. A tax receiver who elects to use an expedited procedure for the sale of property pursuant to this section must execute and deliver to the clerk of the board of county commissioners an affidavit setting forth the facts supporting the determination that the property is abandoned in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection 6. The affidavit required by this subsection must:
(a) Be signed and verified by the person who conducted the investigation to determine whether the property is abandoned;
(b) State that, after investigation, the property was determined to be abandoned; and
(c) State the conditions or circumstances supporting the determination that the property is abandoned.
6. For the purposes of this section, property is abandoned if at least two of the following conditions are found to exist by a preponderance of the evidence:
(a) No person appears to be residing in the property at the time the property is inspected;
(b) Utility service to the property, including, without limitation, gas, electric or water service, has been disconnected or delinquent for over 1 year;
(c) Multiple windows on the property are boarded up or closed off or are smashed through, broken off or unhinged, or multiple window panes are broken and unrepaired;
(d) Doors on the property are smashed through, broken off, unhinged or continuously unlocked;
(e) The property has been stripped of copper or other materials, or interior fixtures to the property have been removed;
(f) Law enforcement officials have received at least one report of trespassing or vandalism or other illegal acts being committed at the property within the immediately preceding 6 months;
(g) If the property is residential real property, the residential real property has been declared unfit for occupancy and ordered to remain vacant and unoccupied under an order issued by a municipal or county authority or a court of competent jurisdiction;
(h) The local police, fire or code enforcement authority has requested that the owner or any other interested or authorized party secure the property because the local authority has declared the property to be an imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public;
(i) The property is open and unprotected and in reasonable danger of significant damage resulting from exposure to the elements or vandalism; or
(j) Other reasonable indicia of abandonment exist.
(Added to NRS by 2019, 748)