Nevada Housing Coalition outlines legislative wins, remaining gaps affecting seniors in Las Vegas

Maurice Page, executive director of the Nevada Housing Coalition, told the City of Las Vegas Senior Citizens Advisory Board on Oct. 2 that Nevada has made some legislative progress on housing this year but remains far short of the supply needed to meet demand for low-income and senior households.

Page summarized 2025 legislative outcomes and statewide housing data and said the state still faces a large shortage of affordable rental units and limits on revenue that constrain further work. “If you give us the money, we’re able to get it out the door,” Page said, describing how past ARPA and state allocations translated into new units and services.

The presentation matters to seniors because Page reported that many retirees live on Social Security or SSDI incomes below $28,000 and are “severe cost burden” victims of current rents and home prices. He also described state funding changes that will affect services and development targeted at seniors and extremely low-income renters.

Page said Nevada is short about 77,928 rental homes statewide and that Southern Nevada accounts for roughly 66,000–67,000 of that shortage. He presented federal- and state-level funding numbers: the 2021 ARPA allocation of $500,000,000 helped increase the state’s affordable housing inventory from about 29,000 units in 2023 to roughly 34,952 units; however, Page said that increase—about 6,000 units—remains far below need. He said the statewide average annual income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental is roughly $64,000, while many minimum-wage and service-sector workers earn far less.

Page outlined key bills and outcomes from the 2025 legislative session: - Assembly Bill 366 (Nevada Supportive Housing Development Fund): made a previously one-time fund (about $32,200,000 in 2023) a continuing line in the general fund with $21,000,000 allocated in the current budget to pay for supportive services such as case management, behavioral health, workforce development and other services that help people remain housed. Page said local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations will apply through RFPs for those funds. - Assembly Bill 62 (state low-income housing tax credits): technical fixes passed that speed development, but the speaker said an extension/expansion of state low-income tax credits—an expected $100,000,000 over 10 years—was vetoed; Page warned that without further action development may slow after 2027. - Assembly Bill 475 (eviction diversion/rental assistance): the session combined rental assistance and eviction diversion provisions into an eviction-diversion program funded with $21,000,000; Page said those dollars are restricted to households that have already received eviction notices and do not cover preventive rental assistance or some deposit assistance. - Assembly Bill 540 (governor’s attainable housing initiative): a $133,000,000 package intended to promote smaller starter homes and expand area median income eligibility for certain programs to 150%, which Page said is intended to make homeownership achievable for more households and to create 5,000–7,000 starter-home opportunities over the next two to three years.

Page also described other bills that failed or were vetoed, including Senate Bill 391 (corporate housing limits aimed at investor purchases) and several federal land–related proposals from members of Nevada’s congressional delegation. He said proposals to limit corporate investors were complicated by legal and tracking issues (multiple LLCs), and that federal land transfers and water-supply constraints will continue to limit large-scale outward expansion. Page called for infill development and coordination on infrastructure to keep housing affordable.

Board members asked about zoning, density and specific programs. Peter Clardy (Ward 2) and others raised land availability and water as linked constraints; Page said even if federal land transfers occurred, infrastructure (roads, utilities, schools, emergency services) would be a limiting factor and that BLM land transitions would likely take years. Caroline Mosdine (Ward 6) asked about tiny homes and the manufactured/tiny-home company Boxabl; Page said Boxabl’s enabling legislation did not pass this session, but that the concept remains under discussion and some pilot projects and institutional contracts exist (UNLV, Catholic Charities).

On homelessness and transitional housing, Jennifer Drum (Ward 3) asked about interim shelter and transitional beds; Page pointed to Campus for Hope, an under-construction project that he said will add roughly 900 beds and could be a model for further transitional housing investments.

Page emphasized four policy areas his coalition and policy committee are pursuing for the 2027 session: development, preservation of existing affordable units (noting that roughly 2,000 units may exit affordability as tax credits expire), revenue sources to fund housing, and housing stabilization services to keep people housed.

Page closed by clarifying that the Nevada Housing Coalition is not a direct services provider. “We are not a direct services agency,” he said. “We do not provide rental assistance. We do not provide housing. What we do is we advocate on people’s behalf. We educate and we bring folks to the table to talk about housing.” He provided the coalition website (nvhousingcoalition.org) and a work cell number for follow-up.

Board members and staff responded with requests to maintain contact, consider additional briefings, and engage seniors as advocates at the state legislature.

For follow-up: Page invited board members to the coalition’s sixth annual affordable housing conference at the Circa Hotel and Resort in October and encouraged local leaders to be “housing champions” during the 2027 legislative turnover and reapportionment cycle.