Senior advisers review eviction process, caregiver supports and private advocacy services

Las Vegas — City and community speakers at the Senior Citizens Advisory Board's Aug. 7 meeting described recurring problems seniors are reporting involving household occupants who assert tenant rights, and reiterated that state and federal benefit programs set narrow limits on caregiver compensation.

Gregory Gray, management analyst I with the Department of Neighborhood Services, told the board his office has received multiple calls from older residents who allow someone to stay in their home and later find that person refuses to leave. "If you let someone stay in your home past the period of two weeks, they are considered a tenant and you would have to formally evict them from your home," Gray said, adding that eviction requires a court process and can take time.

Gray said the department refers residents to the Southern Nevada Legal Aid Center and the Senior Law Program for help with eviction proceedings and with other issues that can stem from these arrangements, including elder abuse and financial exploitation. He also described cases in which seniors downsized, entered a rapid closing and then had to restart eviction steps because a household…