Arizona Landlord Tenant Law - Click here to return to US Landlord
Article 1 - Obligations and Liabilities of
Landlord
33-301 - Posting of lien law and rates by innkeepers
33-302 - Maintenance of fireproof safe by innkeeper for deposit of valuables by
guests; limitations on liability of innkeeper for loss of property of guests
33-303 - Discrimination by landlord or lessor against tenant with children
prohibited; classification; exceptions
Article 2 - Obligations and Liabilities of Tenant
33-321 - Maintenance of premises
33-322 - Damage to premises; classification
33-323 - Liability of person in possession of land for rent due thereon
33-324 - Denial of landlord's title by lessee in possession prohibited
Article 3 - Termination of Tenancies
33-341 - Termination of tenancies
33-342 - Effect of lessee holding over
33-343 - Premises rendered untenantable without fault of lessee; nonliability of
tenant for rent; right to quit premises
Article 4 - Remedies of Landlord
33-361 - Violation of lease by tenant; right of landlord to re-enter; summary
action for recovery of premises; appeal; lien for unpaid rent; enforcement
33-362 - Landlord's lien for rent
Article 5 - Applicability of Chapter
33-381 - Limitation
CHAPTER 10 - ARIZONA RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
Article 1 - General Provisions
33-1301 - Short title
33-1302 - Purposes
33-1303 - Supplementary principles of law applicable
33-1304 - Applicability of chapter
33-1305 - Administration of remedies; enforcement
33-1306 - Settlement of disputed claim or right
33-1307 - Territorial application
33-1308 - Exclusions from application of chapter
33-1309 - Jurisdiction and service of process
33-1310 - General definitions
33-1311 - Obligation of good faith
33-1312 - Unconscionability
33-1313 - Notice
33-1314 - Terms and conditions of rental agreement
33-1315 - Prohibited provisions in rental agreements
33-1316 - Separation of rents and obligations to maintain property forbidden
33-1317 - Discrimination by landlord or lessor against tenant with children
prohibited; classification; exceptions; civil remedy; applicability
Article 2 - Landlord Obligations
33-1321 - Security deposits
33-1322 - Disclosure and tender of written rental agreement
33-1323 - Landlord to supply possession of dwelling unit
33-1324 - Landlord to maintain fit premises
33-1325 - Limitation of liability
33-1329 - Regulation of rents; authority
Article 3 - Tenant Obligations
33-1341 - Tenant to maintain dwelling unit
33-1342 - Rules and regulations
33-1343 - Access
33-1344 - Tenant to use and occupy as a dwelling unit
Article 4 - Remedies
33-1361 - Noncompliance by the landlord
33-1362 - Failure to deliver possession
33-1363 - Self-help for minor defects
33-1364 - Wrongful failure to supply heat air conditioning cooling water hot
water or essential services
33-1365 - Landlord's noncompliance as defense to action for possession or rent;
definition
33-1366 - Fire or casualty damage
33-1367 - Tenant's remedies for landlord's unlawful ouster exclusion or
diminution of services
33-1368 - Noncompliance with rental agreement by tenant; failure to pay rent;
utility discontinuation; liability for guests; definition
33-1369 - Failure to maintain
33-1370 - Abandonment; notice; remedies; personal property; definition
33-1371 - Acceptance of partial payments
33-1372 - Landlord liens; distraint for rent
33-1373 - Remedy after termination
33-1374 - Recovery of possession limited
33-1375 - Periodic tenancy; hold-over remedies
33-1376 - Landlord and tenant remedies for abuse of access
33-1377 - Special detainer actions; service; trial postponement
Article 5 - Retaliatory Action
33-1381 - Retaliatory conduct prohibited
33-301 Posting of lien law and rates by
innkeepers
Every keeper of a hotel, inn, boarding, lodging or apartment house, or auto
camp, shall post in a conspicuous place in the office or public room, and in
every bedroom of the establishment, a printed copy of sections 33-951 and
33-952, with a printed statement of charges by the day, week or month for meals,
lodging or other items furnished.
33-302 Maintenance of fireproof safe by
innkeeper for deposit of valuables by guests; limitations on liability of
innkeeper for loss of property of guests
A. An innkeeper who maintains a fireproof safe and gives notice by posting in a
conspicuous place in the office or in the room of each guest that money,
jewelry, documents and other articles of small size and unusual value may be
deposited in the safe, is not liable for loss of or injury to any such article
not deposited in the safe, which is not the result of his own act.
B. An innkeeper may refuse to receive for deposit from a guest articles
exceeding a total value of five hundred dollars, and unless otherwise agreed to
in writing shall not be liable in an amount in excess of five hundred dollars
for loss of or damage to property deposited by a guest in such safe unless the
loss or damage is the result of the fault or negligence of the innkeeper.
C. The innkeeper shall not be liable for loss of or damage to merchandise
samples or merchandise for sale displayed by a guest unless the guest gives
prior written notice to the innkeeper of having and displaying the merchandise
or merchandise samples, and the innkeeper acknowledges receipt of such notice,
but in no event shall liability for such loss or damage exceed five hundred
dollars unless it results from the fault or negligence of the innkeeper.
D. The liability of an innkeeper to a guest shall be limited to one hundred
dollars for property delivered to the innkeeper to be kept in a storeroom or
baggage room and to seventy-five dollars for property deposited in a parcel or
checkroom.
E. For the purpose of this section the term "inn" includes hotel,
boarding house, lodging house, apartment house, motel and auto camp.
33-303 Discrimination by landlord or lessor
against tenant with children prohibited; classification; exceptions
A. A person who knowingly refuses to rent to any other person a place to be used
for a dwelling for the reason that the other person has a child or children, or
who advertises in connection with the rental a restriction against children,
either by the display of a sign, placard, written or printed notice, or by
publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation, is guilty of a petty
offense.
B. No person shall rent or lease his property to another in violation of a valid
restrictive covenant against the sale of such property to persons who have a
child or children living with them nor shall a person rent or lease his property
to persons who have a child or children living with them when his property lies
within a subdivision which subdivision is presently designed, advertised and
used as an exclusive adult subdivision. A person who knowingly rents or leases
his property in violation of the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a
petty offense.
33-321 Maintenance of premises
A tenant shall exercise diligence to maintain the premises in as good condition
as when he took possession, ordinary wear and tear excepted.
33-322 Damage to premises; classification
Removal or intentional and material alteration or damage of any part of a
building, the furnishings thereof, or any permanent fixture, by or at the
instance of the tenant, without written permission of the landlord or his agent,
is a class 2 misdemeanor.
33-323 Liability of person in possession of
land for rent due thereon
Every person in possession of land out of which rent is due is liable for the
amount or proportion of rent due from the lands in his possession, although it
is only a part of the land originally demised, without depriving the landlord of
other legal remedies for recovery of rent.
33-324 Denial of landlord's title by lessee in
possession prohibited
When a person enters into possession of real property under a lease, he may not,
while in possession, deny the title of his landlord in an action brought upon
the lease by the landlord or a person claiming under him.
33-341 - Termination of tenancies
A. A tenancy from year to year terminates at the end of each year unless written
permission is given to remain for a longer period. The permission shall specify
the time the tenant may remain, and upon termination of such time the tenancy
expires.
B. A lease from month to month may be terminated by the landlord giving at least
ten days notice thereof. In case of nonpayment of rent notice is not required.
C. A tenant from month to month shall give ten days notice, and a tenant on a
semimonthly basis shall give five days notice, of his intention to terminate
possession of the premises. Failure to give the notice renders the tenant liable
for the rent for the ensuing ten days.
D. When a tenancy is for a certain period under verbal or written agreement, and
the time expires, the tenant shall surrender possession. Notice to quit or
demand of possession is not then necessary.
E. A tenant who holds possession of property against the will of the landlord,
except as provided in this section, shall not be considered a tenant at
sufferance or at will.
33-342 - Effect of lessee holding over
When a lessee holds over and retains possession after expiration of the term of
the lease without express contract with the owner, the holding over shall not
operate to renew the lease for the term of the former lease, but thereafter the
tenancy is from month to month.
33-343 - Premises rendered untenantable
without fault of lessee; nonliability of tenant for rent; right to quit premises
The lessee of a building which, without fault or neglect on the part of the
lessee, is destroyed or so injured by the elements or any other cause as to be
untenantable or unfit for occupancy, is not liable thereafter to pay rent to the
lessor or owner unless expressly provided by written agreement, and the lessee
may thereupon quit and surrender possession of the premises.
33-361 - Violation of lease by tenant; right
of landlord to re-enter; summary action for recovery of premises; appeal; lien
for unpaid rent; enforcement
A. When a tenant neglects or refuses to pay rent when due and in arrears for
five days, or when tenant violates any provision of the lease, the landlord or
person to whom the rent is due, or his agent, may re-enter and take possession,
or, without formal demand or re-entry, commence an action for recovery of
possession of the premises.
B. The action shall be commenced, conducted and governed as provided for actions
for forcible entry or detainer, and shall be tried not less than five nor more
than thirty days after its commencement.
C. If judgment is given for the plaintiff, the defendant, in order to perfect an
appeal, shall file a bond with the court in an amount fixed and approved by the
court payable to the clerk of the superior court, conditioned that appellant
will prosecute the appeal to effect and will pay the rental value of the
premises pending the appeal and all damages, costs, and rent adjudged against
him.
D. If the tenant refuses or fails to pay rent owing and due, the landlord shall
have a lien upon and may seize as much personal property of the tenant located
on the premises and not exempted by law as is necessary to secure payment of the
rent. If the rent is not paid and satisfied within sixty days after seizure as
provided for in this section, the landlord may sell the seized personal property
in the manner provided by section 33-1023.
E. When premises are sublet or the lease assigned, the landlord shall have a
like lien against the sublessee or assignee as he has against the tenant and may
enforce it in the same manner.
33-362 - Landlord's lien for rent
A. The landlord shall have a lien on all property of his tenant not exempt by
law, placed upon or used on the leased premises, until the rent is paid. The
lien shall not secure the payment of rent accruing after the death or bankruptcy
of the lessee, or after an assignment for the benefit of the lessee's creditors.
B. The landlord may seize for rent any personal property of his tenant found on
the premises, but the property of any other person, although found on the
premises, shall not be liable therefor. If the tenant fails to allow the
landlord to take possession of such property, the landlord may reduce the
property to possession by an action to recover possession, and may hold or sell
the property for the payment of the rent.
C. The landlord shall have a lien for rent upon crops grown or growing upon the
leased premises, whether the rent is payable in money, articles of property or
products of the premises, and also for the faithful performance of the terms of
the lease, and the lien shall continue for a period of six months after
expiration of the term of the lease.
D. When premises are sublet, or when the lease is assigned, the landlord shall
have the same lien against the sublessee or assignee as he has against the
tenant and may enforce the lien in like manner.
33-381 - Limitation
This chapter shall apply to all landlord-tenant relationships except for
landlord-tenant relationships arising out of the rental of dwelling units which
shall be governed by chapter 10 or 11 of this title.
33-1301 - Short title
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Arizona residential landlord
and tenant act.
33-1302 - Purposes
1. To simplify, clarify, modernize and revise the law governing the rental of
dwelling units and the rights and obligations of landlord and tenant.
2. To encourage landlord and tenant to maintain and improve the quality of
housing.
33-1303 - Supplementary principles of law
applicable
Unless displaced by the provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and
equity, including the law relating to capacity to contract, mutuality of
obligations, principal and agent, real property, public health, safety and fire
prevention, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake,
bankruptcy or other validating or invalidating cause supplement its provisions.
33-1304 - Applicability of chapter
This chapter shall apply to the rental of dwelling units. Any conflict between
the provisions of chapter 3 and chapter 7 of this title with the provisions of
this chapter shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter.
33-1305 - Administration of remedies;
enforcement
A. The remedies provided by this chapter shall be so administered that the
aggrieved party may recover appropriate damages. The aggrieved party has a duty
to mitigate damages.
B. Any right or obligation declared by this chapter is enforceable by action
unless the provision declaring it specifies a different and limited effect.
33-1306 - Settlement of disputed claim or
right
A claim or right arising under this chapter or on a rental agreement, if
disputed in good faith, may be settled by agreement.
33-1307 - Territorial application
This chapter applies to, regulates, and determines rights, obligations and
remedies under a rental agreement, wherever made, for a dwelling unit located
within this state.
33-1308 - Exclusions from application of
chapter
Unless created to avoid the application of this chapter, the following
arrangements are not covered by this chapter:
1. Residence at an institution, public or private, if incidental to detention or
the provision of medical, educational, counseling or religious services.
2. Occupancy under a contract of sale of a dwelling unit or the property of
which it is a part, if the occupant is the purchaser or a person who succeeds to
his interest.
3. Occupancy by a member of a fraternal or social organization in the portion of
a structure operated for the benefit of the organization.
4. Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel or recreational lodging.
5. Occupancy by an employee of a landlord as a manager or custodian whose right
to occupancy is conditional upon employment in and about the premises.
6. Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit or a holder of a proprietary
lease in a cooperative.
7. Occupancy in or operation of public housing as authorized, provided, or
conducted under or pursuant to title 36, chapter 12, or under or pursuant to any
federal law or regulation.
33-1309 - Jurisdiction and service of process
A. The appropriate court of this state may exercise jurisdiction over any
landlord with respect to any conduct in this state governed by this chapter or
with respect to any claim arising from a transaction subject to this chapter. In
addition to any other method provided by rule or by statute, personal
jurisdiction over a landlord may be acquired in a civil action or proceeding
instituted in the appropriate court by the service of process in the manner
provided by this section.
B. If a landlord is not a resident of this state or is a corporation not
authorized to do business in this state and engages in any conduct in this state
governed by this chapter, or engages in a transaction subject to this chapter,
he may designate an agent upon whom service of process may be made in this
state. The agent shall be a resident of this state or a corporation authorized
to do business in this state. The designation shall be in writing and filed with
the secretary of state. If no designation is made and filed or if process cannot
be served in this state upon the designated agent, process may be served upon
the secretary of state, but the plaintiff or petitioner shall forthwith mail a
copy of the process and pleading by registered or certified mail to the
defendant or respondent at his last reasonably ascertained address. In the event
there is no last reasonably ascertainable address and if the defendant or
respondent has not complied with section 33-1322, subsections A and B, then
service upon the secretary of state shall be sufficient service of process
without the mailing of copies to the defendant or respondent. Service of process
shall be deemed complete and the time shall begin to run for the purposes of
this section at the time of service upon the secretary of state. The defendant
shall appear and answer within thirty days after completion thereof in the
manner and under the same penalty as if he had been personally served with the
summons. An affidavit of compliance with this section shall be filed with the
clerk of the court on or before the return day of the process, if any, or within
any further time the court allows. Where applicable, the affidavit shall contain
a statement that defendant or respondent has not complied with section 33-1322,
subsections A and B.
33-1310 - General definitions
Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent articles of this
chapter which apply to specific articles thereof, and unless the context
otherwise requires, in this chapter:
1. "Action" includes recoupment, counterclaim, setoff, suit in equity
and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for
possession.
2. "Building and housing codes" include any law, ordinance or
governmental regulation concerning fitness for habitation, or the construction,
maintenance, operation, occupancy, use or appearance of any premises, or
dwelling unit.
3. "Delivery of possession" means returning dwelling unit keys to the
landlord and vacating the premises.
4. "Dwelling unit" means a structure or the part of a structure that
is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person who maintains a
household or by two or more persons who maintain a common household.
"Dwelling unit" excludes real property used to accommodate a mobile
home, unless the mobile home is rented or leased by the landlord.
5. "Good faith" means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction
concerned.
6. "Landlord" means the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling
unit or the building of which it is a part, and it also means a manager of the
premises who fails to disclose as required by section 33-1322.
7. "Organization" includes a corporation, government, governmental
subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or
association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest and any other
legal or commercial entity which is a landlord, owner, manager or constructive
agent pursuant to section 33-1322.
8. "Owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is
vested all or part of the legal title to property or all or part of the
beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises.
The term includes a mortgagee in possession.
9. "Person" means an individual or organization.
10. "Premises" means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is
a part and existing facilities and appurtenances therein, including furniture
and utilities where applicable, and grounds, areas and existing facilities held
out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant.
11. "Rent" means payments to be made to the landlord in full
consideration for the rented premises.
12. "Rental agreement" means all agreements, written, oral or implied
by law, and valid rules and regulations adopted under section 33-1342 embodying
the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and
premises.
13. "Roomer" means a person occupying a dwelling unit that lacks a
major bathroom or kitchen facility, in a structure where one or more major
facilities are used in common by occupants of the dwelling unit and other
dwelling units. Major facility in the case of a bathroom means toilet, or either
a bath or shower, and in the case of a kitchen means refrigerator, stove or
sink.
14. "Security" means money or property given to assure payment or
performance under a rental agreement. "Security" does not include a
reasonable charge for redecorating or cleaning.
15. "Single family residence" means a structure maintained and used as
a single dwelling unit. Notwithstanding that a dwelling unit shares one or more
walls with another dwelling unit, it is a single family residence if it has
direct access to a street or thoroughfare and shares neither heating facilities,
hot water equipment nor any other essential facility or service with any other
dwelling unit.
16. "Tenant" means a person entitled under a rental agreement to
occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others.
17. "Term of lease" means the initial term or any renewal or extension
of the written rental agreement currently in effect not including any wrongful
holdover period.
33-1311 - Obligation of good faith
Every duty under this chapter and every act which must be performed as a
condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter
imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.
33-1312 - Unconscionability
A. If the court, as a matter of law, finds either of the following:
1. A rental agreement or any provision thereof was unconscionable when made, the
court may refuse to enforce the agreement, enforce the remainder of the
agreement without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any
unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result.
2. A settlement in which a party waives or agrees to forego a claim or right
under this chapter or under a rental agreement was unconscionable at the time it
was made, the court may refuse to enforce the settlement, enforce the remainder
of the settlement without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application
of any unconscionable provision to avoid any unconscionable result.
B. If unconscionability is put into issue by a party or by the court upon its
own motion the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present
evidence as to the setting, purpose and effect of the rental agreement or
settlement to aid the court in making the determination.
33-1313 - Notice
A. A person has notice of a fact if he has actual knowledge of it, has received
a notice or notification of it or from all the facts and circumstances known to
him at the time in question he has reason to know that it exists. A person
"knows" or "has knowledge" of a fact if he has actual
knowledge of it.
B. A person "notifies" or "gives" a notice or notification
to another by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform the other in ordinary
course whether or not the other actually comes to know of it. A person
"receives" a notice or notification when it comes to his attention, or
in the case of the landlord, it is delivered in hand or mailed by registered or
certified mail to the place of business of the landlord through which the rental
agreement was made or at any place held out by him as the place for receipt of
the communication or delivered to any individual who is designated as an agent
by section 33-1322 or, in the case of the tenant, it is delivered in hand to the
tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail to him at the place held out by
him as the place for receipt of the communication or, in the absence of such
designation, to his last known place of residence. If notice is mailed by
registered or certified mail, the tenant or landlord is deemed to have received
such notice on the date the notice is actually received by him or five days
after the date the notice is mailed, whichever occurs first.
C. "Notice," knowledge or a notice or notification received by an
organization is effective for a particular transaction from the time it is
brought to the attention of the individual conducting the transaction and in any
event from the time it would have been brought to his attention if the
organization had exercised reasonable diligence.
33-1314 - Terms and conditions of rental
agreement
A. The landlord and tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and
conditions not prohibited by this chapter or any other rule of law including
rent, term of the agreement and other provisions governing the rights and
obligations of the parties.
B. In the absence of a rental agreement, the tenant shall pay as rent the fair
rental value for the use and occupancy of the dwelling unit.
C. Rent shall be payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed
upon by the parties. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is payable at the dwelling
unit and periodic rent is payable at the beginning of any term of one month or
less and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the beginning of each month.
Unless otherwise agreed, rent shall be uniformly apportionable from day-to-day.
D. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy shall be
week-to-week in case of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases
month-to-month.
E. If a municipality that levies a transaction privilege tax on residential rent
changes the percentage of that tax, the landlord on thirty day written notice to
the tenant may adjust the amount of rent due to equal the difference caused by
new percentage amount of tax. The adjustment to rent shall not occur before the
date upon which the new tax is effective. In order for a landlord to adjust rent
pursuant to this subsection, the landlord's right to adjust rent pursuant to
this subsection shall be disclosed in the rental agreement.
33-1315 - Prohibited provisions in rental
agreements
A. A rental agreement shall not provide that the tenant does any of the
following:
1. Agrees to waive or to forego rights or remedies under this chapter.
2. Agrees to pay the landlord's attorney's fees, except an agreement in writing
may provide that attorney's fees may be awarded to the prevailing party in the
event of court action and except that a prevailing party in a contested forcible
detainer action is eligible to be awarded attorney fees pursuant to section
12-341.01 regardless of whether the rental agreement provides for such an award.
3. Agrees to the exculpation or limitation of any liability of the landlord
arising under law or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or the costs
connected therewith.
B. A provision prohibited by subsection A of this section included in a rental
agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord deliberately uses a rental agreement
containing provisions known by him to be prohibited, the tenant may recover
actual damages sustained by him and not more than two months' periodic rent.
33-1316 - Separation of rents and obligations
to maintain property forbidden
A rental agreement, assignment, conveyance, trust deed or security instrument
may not permit the receipt of rent free of the obligation to comply with section
33-1324, subsection A.
33-1317 - Discrimination by landlord or lessor
against tenant with children prohibited; classification; exceptions; civil
remedy; applicability
A. A person who knowingly refuses to rent to any other person a place to be used
for a dwelling for the reason that the other person has a child or children, or
who advertises in connection with the rental a restriction against children,
either by the display of a sign, placard or written or printed notice, or by
publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation, is guilty of a petty
offense.
B. No person shall rent or lease his property to another in violation of a valid
restrictive covenant against the sale of such property to persons who have a
child or children living with them.
C. No person shall rent or lease his property to persons who have a child or
children living with them when his property meets the definition of housing for
older persons in section 41-1491.04.
D. A person who knowingly rents or leases his property in violation of the
provisions of subsection B or C of this section is guilty of a petty offense.
E. A person whose rights under this section have been violated may bring a civil
action against a person who violates this section for all of the following:
1. Injunctive or declaratory relief to correct the violation.
2. Actual damages sustained by the tenant or prospective tenant.
3. A civil penalty of three times the monthly rent of the housing accommodation
involved in the violation if the violation is determined to be intentional.
4. Court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
F. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from refusing to rent a
dwelling by reason of reasonable occupancy standards established by the owner or
the owner's agent which apply to persons of all ages, and which have been
adopted and published before the event in issue. An occupancy limitation of two
persons per bedroom residing in a dwelling unit shall be presumed reasonable for
this state and all political subdivisions of this state.
G. Subsection B of this section applies only to dwellings occupied or intended
to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other
and in which the owner maintains and occupies one of the living quarters as the
owner's residence.
33-1321 - Security deposits
A. A landlord shall not demand or receive security, however denominated,
including, but not limited to, prepaid rent in an amount or value in excess of
one and one-half month's rent. This subsection does not prohibit a tenant from
voluntarily paying more than one and one-half month's rent in advance.
B. The purpose of all nonrefundable fees or deposits shall be stated in writing
by the landlord. Any fee or deposit not designated as nonrefundable shall be
refundable.
C. With respect to tenants who first occupy the premises or enter into a new
written rental agreement after January 1, 1996, upon move in a landlord shall
furnish the tenant with a signed copy of the lease, a move-in form for
specifying any existing damages to the dwelling unit and written notification to
the tenant that the tenant may be present at the move-out inspection. Upon
request by the tenant, the landlord shall notify the tenant when the landlord's
move-out inspection will occur. If the tenant is being evicted for a material
and irreparable breach and the landlord has reasonable cause to fear violence or
intimidation on the part of the tenant, the landlord has no obligation to
conduct a joint move-out inspection with the tenant.
D. Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as
prepaid rent and security may be applied to the payment of all rent, and subject
to a landlord's duty to mitigate, all charges as specified in the signed lease
agreement, or as provided in this chapter, including the amount of damages which
the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with section
33-1341. Within fourteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal
holidays, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand
by the tenant the landlord shall provide the tenant an itemized list of all
deductions together with the amount due and payable to the tenant, if any.
Unless other arrangements are made in writing by the tenant, the landlord shall
mail, by regular mail, to the tenant's last known place of residence.
E. If the landlord fails to comply with subsection D of this section the tenant
may recover the property and money due the tenant together with damages in an
amount equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
F. This section does not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other
damages to which the landlord or tenant may be entitled under this chapter.
G. The holder of the landlord's interest in the premises at the time of the
termination of the tenancy is bound by this section.
33-1322 - Disclosure and tender of written
rental agreement
A. The landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his
behalf shall disclose to the tenant in writing at or before the commencement of
the tenancy the name and address of each of the following:
1. The person authorized to manage the premises.
2. An owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for and on behalf of
the owner for the purpose of service of process and for the purpose of receiving
and receipting for notices and demands.
B. At or before the commencement of the tenancy, the landlord shall inform the
tenant in writing that a free copy of the Arizona residential landlord and
tenant act is available through the Arizona secretary of state's office.
C. The information required to be furnished by this section shall be kept
current and refurnished to tenant upon tenant's request. This section extends to
and is enforceable against any successor landlord, owner or manager.
D. A person who fails to comply with subsections A and B becomes an agent of
each person who is a landlord for the following purposes:
1. Service of process and receiving and receipting for notices and demands.
2. Performing the obligations of the landlord under this chapter and under the
rental agreement and expending or making available for the purpose all rent
collected from the premises.
E. If there is a written rental agreement, the landlord must tender and deliver
a signed copy of the rental agreement to the tenant and the tenant must sign and
deliver to the landlord one fully executed copy of such rental agreement within
a reasonable time after the agreement is executed. A written rental agreement
shall have all blank spaces completed. Noncompliance with this subsection shall
be deemed a material noncompliance by the landlord or the tenant, as the case
may be, of the rental agreement.
33-1323 - Landlord to supply possession of
dwelling unit
At the commencement of the term the landlord shall deliver possession of the
premises to the tenant in compliance with the rental agreement and section
33-1324. The landlord may bring an action for possession against any person
wrongfully in possession and may recover the damages provided in section
33-1375, subsection C.
33-1324 - Landlord to maintain fit premises
A. The landlord shall:
1. Comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially
affecting health and safety.
2. Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in
a fit and habitable condition.
3. Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition.
4. Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical,
plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities
and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him.
5. Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the removal
of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other waste incidental to the occupancy of the
dwelling unit and arrange for their removal.
6. Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times,
reasonable heat and reasonable air-conditioning or cooling where such units are
installed and offered, when required by seasonal weather conditions, except
where the building that includes the dwelling unit is not required by law to be
equipped for that purpose or the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat,
air-conditioning, cooling or hot water is generated by an installation within
the exclusive control of the tenant and supplied by a direct public utility
connection.
B. If the duty imposed by subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section is greater
than any duty imposed by any other paragraph of this section, the landlord's
duty shall be determined by reference to that paragraph.
C. The landlord and tenant of a single family residence may agree in writing,
supported by adequate consideration, that the tenant perform the landlord's
duties specified in subsection A, paragraphs 5 and 6 of this section, and also
specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations and remodeling, but only if
the transaction is entered into in good faith, not for the purpose of evading
the obligations of the landlord and the work is not necessary to cure
noncompliance with subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section.
D. The landlord and tenant of any dwelling unit other than a single family
residence may agree that the tenant is to perform specified repairs, maintenance
tasks, alterations or remodeling only if:
1. The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the
purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and is set forth in a
separate writing signed by the parties and supported by adequate consideration.
2. The work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection A, paragraphs
1 and 2 of this section.
3. The agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the landlord to
other tenants in the premises.
E. If the landlord purchases utility services from a public service corporation
for distribution through a system owned or operated by the landlord and imposes
separately stated utility or similar charges on the tenants, the aggregate
amount of the separately stated charges shall not exceed the actual cost paid by
the landlord to the public service corporation for the utility services. The
tenant is not required to pay any other separately stated charges for provision
of the utility services. This shall not prohibit a mobile home park landlord
from charging residents of dwellings rented from the landlord within the mobile
home park for utilities in accordance with section 33-1413.01.
33-1325 - Limitation of liability
A. Unless otherwise agreed, a landlord, who conveys premises that include a
dwelling unit subject to a rental agreement in a good faith sale to a bona fide
purchaser, is relieved of liability under the rental agreement and this chapter
as to events occurring subsequent to written notice to the tenant of the
conveyance. He remains liable to the tenant for any property and money to which
the tenant is entitled under section 33-1321.
B. Unless otherwise agreed, a manager of premises that include a dwelling unit
is relieved of liability under the rental agreement and this chapter as to
events occurring after written notice to the tenant of the termination of his
management.
33-1329 - Regulation of rents; authority
A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary the state
legislature determines that the imposition of rent control on private
residential housing units by cities, including charter cities, and towns is of
statewide concern. Therefore, the power to control rents on private residential
property is preempted by the state. Cities, including charter cities, or towns
shall not have the power to control rents.
B. The provisions of subsection A shall not apply to residential property which
is owned, financed, insured or subsidized by any state agency, or by any city,
including charter city, or town.
33-1341 - Tenant to maintain dwelling unit
The tenant shall:
1. Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable
provisions of building codes materially affecting health and safety.
2. Keep that part of the premises that he occupies and uses as clean and safe as
the condition of the premises permit.
3. Dispose from his dwelling unit all ashes, rubbish, garbage and other waste in
a clean and safe manner.
4. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as
clean as their condition permits.
5. Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating,
ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances including
elevators in the premises.
6. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any
part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so.
7. Conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to
conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors' peaceful
enjoyment of the premises.
33-1342 - Rules and regulations
A. A landlord, from time to time, may adopt rules or regulations, however
described, concerning the tenant's use and occupancy of the premises. Such rules
or regulations are enforceable against the tenant only if:
1. Their purpose is to promote the convenience, safety or welfare of the tenants
in the premises, preserve the landlord's property from abusive use or make a
fair distribution of services and facilities held out for the tenants generally.
2. They are reasonably related to the purpose for which adopted.
3. They apply to all tenants in the premises in a fair manner.
4. They are sufficiently explicit in prohibition, direction or limitation of the
tenant's conduct to fairly inform the tenant of what the tenant must or must not
do to comply.
5. They are not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord.
6. The tenant has notice of them at the time the tenant enters into the rental
agreement.
B. A rule or regulation adopted after the tenant enters into the rental
agreement is enforceable against the tenant if a thirty day notice of its
adoption is given to the tenant and it does not constitute a substantial
modification of the tenant's rental agreement.
C. If state, county, municipal or other governmental bodies adopt new
ordinances, rules or other legal provisions affecting existing rental
agreements, the landlord may make immediate amendments to lease agreements to
bring them into compliance with the law. The landlord shall give a tenant
written notice that the tenant's lease agreement has been amended, and the
notice shall provide a brief description of the amendment and the effective
date.
33-1343 - Access
A. The tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter
into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or
agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or
agreed services or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual
purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors.
B. The landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in
case of emergency.
C. The landlord shall not abuse the right to access or use it to harass the
tenant. Except in case of emergency or if it is impracticable to do so, the
landlord shall give the tenant at least two days' notice of his intent to enter
and enter only at reasonable times.
D. The landlord has no other right of access except by court order and as
permitted by sections 33-1369 and 33-1370, or if the tenant has abandoned or
surrendered the premises.
33-1344 - Tenant to use and occupy as a
dwelling unit
Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant shall occupy his dwelling unit only as a
dwelling unit.
33-1361 - Noncompliance by the landlord
A. Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by
the landlord with the rental agreement, including a material falsification of
the written information provided to the tenant, the tenant may deliver a written
notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach
and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than ten days
after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in ten days. If there
is a noncompliance by the landlord with section 33-1324 materially affecting
health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord
specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental
agreement will terminate upon a date not less than five days after receipt of
the notice if the breach is not remedied in five days. For the purposes of this
section, material falsification shall include availability of the unit, except
when a holdover tenant is in illegal possession or in violation of the rental
agreement, the condition of the premises and any current services as represented
by the landlord in writing as well as any written representation, as well as any
representation regarding future services and any future changes regarding the
condition of the premises, the provision of utility services and the designation
of the party responsible for the payment of utility services. The rental
agreement shall terminate and the dwelling unit shall be vacated as provided in
the notice subject to the following:
1. If the breach is remediable by repairs or the payment of damages or otherwise
and the landlord adequately remedies the breach prior to the date specified in
the notice, the rental agreement will not terminate.
2. The tenant may not terminate for a condition caused by the deliberate or
negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family or
other person on the premises with the tenant's consent.
B. Except as provided in this chapter, the tenant may recover damages and obtain
injunctive relief for any noncompliance by the landlord with the rental
agreement or section 33-1324.
C. The remedy provided in subsection B of this section is in addition to any
right of the tenant arising under subsection A of this section.
D. If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord shall return all security
recoverable by the tenant under section 33-1321.
33-1362 - Failure to deliver possession
A. If the landlord fails to deliver physical possession of the dwelling unit to
the tenant as provided in section 33-1323, rent abates until possession is
delivered and the tenant may do either of the following:
1. Upon at least five days' written notice to the landlord terminate the rental
agreement and upon termination the landlord shall return all prepaid rent and
security.
2. Demand performance of the rental agreement by the landlord and, if the tenant
elects, maintain an action for possession of the dwelling unit against the
landlord or any person wrongfully in possession and recover the damages
sustained by him.
B. If the landlord fails to deliver constructive possession to the tenant
because of noncompliance with section 33-1324, rent shall not abate. Tenant may
proceed with the remedies provided for in section 33-1361.
C. If a person's failure to deliver possession is willful and not in good faith,
an aggrieved person may recover from that person an amount not more than two
months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages sustained by him, whichever is
greater.
33-1363 - Self-help for minor defects
A. If the landlord fails to comply with section 33-1324, and the reasonable cost
of compliance is less than three hundred dollars, or an amount equal to one-half
of the monthly rent, whichever amount is greater, the tenant may recover damages
for the breach under section 33-1361, subsection B, or may notify the landlord
of the tenant's intention to correct the condition at the landlord's expense.
After being notified by the tenant in writing, if the landlord fails to comply
within ten days or as promptly thereafter as conditions require in case of
emergency, the tenant may cause the work to be done by a licensed contractor
and, after submitting to the landlord an itemized statement and a waiver of
lien, deduct from his rent the actual and reasonable cost of the work, not
exceeding the amount specified in this subsection.
B. A tenant may not repair at the landlord's expense if the condition was caused
by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the
tenant's family or other person on the premises with the tenant's consent.
33-1364 - Wrongful failure to supply heat air
conditioning cooling water hot water or essential services
A. If contrary to the rental agreement or section 33-1324 the landlord
deliberately or negligently fails to supply running water, gas or electrical
service, or both if applicable, and reasonable amounts of hot water or heat,
air-conditioning or cooling, where such units are installed and offered, or
essential services, the tenant may give reasonable notice to the landlord
specifying the breach and may do one of the following:
1. Procure reasonable amounts of hot water, running water, heat and essential
services during the period of the landlord's noncompliance and deduct their
actual reasonable cost from the rent. If the landlord has failed to provide any
of the utility services specified in this section due to nonpayment of the
landlord's utility bill for the premises, and if there is no separate utility
meter for each tenant in the premises such that the tenant could avoid a utility
shutoff by arranging to have services transferred to the tenant's name, the
tenant may either individually or collectively with other tenants arrange with
the utility company to pay the utility bill after written notice to the landlord
of the tenant's intent to do so. With the utility company's approval the tenant
or tenants may pay the landlord's delinquent utility bill and deduct from any
rent owed to the landlord the actual cost of the payment the tenant made to
restore utility services. The tenant or tenants may continue to make such
payments to the utility company until the landlord has provided adequate
assurances to the tenant that the above utility services will be maintained.
2. Recover damages based upon the diminution in the fair rental value of the
dwelling unit.
3. Procure reasonable substitute housing during the period of the landlord's
noncompliance, in which case the tenant is excused from paying rent for the
period of the landlord's noncompliance. In the event the periodic cost of such
substitute housing exceeds the amount of the periodic rent, upon delivery by
tenant of proof of payment for such substitute housing, tenant may recover from
landlord such excess costs up to an amount not to exceed twenty-five per cent of
the periodic rent which has been excused pursuant to this paragraph.
B. A landlord shall provide all utilities and services specified in the lease
agreement.
C. A landlord shall not terminate utility services as specified in subsection A
of this section which are provided to the tenant as part of the rental
agreement, except as necessary to make needed repairs or as provided in section
33-1368. Subsequent to the execution of the rental agreement, a landlord may not
transfer the responsibility for payment of such utility services to the tenant
without the tenant's written consent.
D. If a landlord is in violation of subsection C of this section, the tenant may
recover damages, costs and reasonable attorneys fees and obtain injunctive
relief. Nothing in this section shall preclude a tenant's right to recover
damages as specified in section 33-1367.
E. A lease agreement shall not contain any terms contrary to this section.
F. In addition to the remedy provided in paragraph 3 of subsection A of this
section, in the event the landlord's noncompliance is deliberate, the tenant may
recover the actual and reasonable cost or fair and reasonable value of the
substitute housing not in excess of an amount equal to the periodic rent.
G. If the tenant proceeds under this section, he may not proceed under section
33-1361 or section 33-1363 as to that breach, except as to damages which occur
prior to the tenant proceeding under subsection A or B of this section.
H. The rights under this section do not arise until the tenant has given notice
to the landlord and such rights do not include the right to repair. Such rights
do not arise if the condition was caused by the deliberate or negligent act or
omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family or other person on the
premises with the tenant's consent.
33-1365 - Landlord's noncompliance as defense
to action for possession or rent; definition
A. In an action for possession based upon nonpayment of the rent or in an action
for rent where the tenant is in possession, if the landlord is not in compliance
with the rental agreement or this chapter, the tenant may counterclaim for any
amount which he may recover under the rental agreement or this chapter. In that
event after notice and hearing the court from time to time may order the tenant
to pay into court all or part of the undisputed rent accrued and all periodic
rent thereafter accruing and shall determine the amount due to each party. The
party to whom a net amount is owed shall be paid first from the money paid into
court and the balance, if any, by the other party. However, if no rent remains
due after application of this section, or if the tenant is adjudged to have
acted in good faith and satisfies a judgment for rent entered for the landlord,
judgment shall be entered for the tenant in the action for possession.
B. In an action for rent where the tenant is not in possession, the tenant may
counterclaim as provided in subsection A but the tenant is not required to pay
any rent into court.
33-1366 - Fire or casualty damage
A. If the dwelling unit or premises are damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty
to an extent that enjoyment of the dwelling unit is substantially impaired, the
tenant may do either of the following:
1. Immediately vacate the premises and notify the landlord in writing within
fourteen days thereafter of his intention to terminate the rental agreement, in
which case the rental agreement terminates as of the date of vacating.
2. If continued occupancy is lawful, vacate any part of the dwelling unit
rendered unusable by the fire or casualty, in which case the tenant's liability
for rent is reduced in proportion to the diminution in the fair rental value of
the dwelling unit.
B. If the rental agreement is terminated the landlord shall return all security
recoverable under section 33-1321. Accounting for rent in the event of
termination or apportionment is to occur as of the date the tenant vacates all
or part of the dwelling unit.
33-1367 - Tenant's remedies for landlord's
unlawful ouster exclusion or diminution of services
If the landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant from the premises or
wilfully diminishes services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the
interruption of electric, gas, water or other essential service to the tenant,
the tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement and, in
either case, recover an amount not more than two months' periodic rent or twice
the actual damages sustained by him, whichever is greater. If the rental
agreement is terminated the landlord shall return all security recoverable under
section 33-1321.
33-1368 - Noncompliance with rental agreement
by tenant; failure to pay rent; utility discontinuation; liability for guests;
definition
A. Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by
the tenant with the rental agreement, including material falsification of the
information provided on the rental application, the landlord may deliver a
written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the
breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than
ten days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in ten days.
For the purposes of this section, material falsification shall include the
following untrue or misleading information about the:
1. Number of occupants in the dwelling unit, pets, income of prospective tenant,
social security number and current employment listed on the application or lease
agreement.
2. Criminal records, prior eviction record, current criminal activity. Material
falsification of information in paragraph 2 of this subsection is not curable
under this section.
If there is a noncompliance by the tenant with section 33-1341 materially
affecting health and safety, the landlord may deliver a written notice to the
tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the
rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than five days after
receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in five days. However, if
the breach is remediable by repair or the payment of damages or otherwise, and
the tenant adequately remedies the breach prior to the date specified in the
notice, the rental agreement will not terminate. If there is an additional act
of these types of noncompliance of the same or a similar nature during the term
of the lease after the previous remedy of noncompliance, the landlord may
institute a special detainer action pursuant to section 33-1377 ten days after
delivery of a written notice advising the tenant that a second noncompliance of
the same or a similar nature has occurred. If there is a breach that is both
material and irreparable and that occurs on the premises, including but not
limited to an illegal discharge of a weapon, prostitution as defined in section
13-3211, criminal street gang activity as prescribed in section 13-105, activity
as prohibited in section 13-2308, the unlawful manufacturing, selling, using,
storing, keeping or giving of a controlled substance as defined in section
13-3451, infliction of bodily harm, threatening or intimidating as prohibited in
section 13-1202, assault as prohibited in section 13-1203 or a breach of the
lease agreement that otherwise jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the
landlord, the landlord's agent or another tenant or involving imminent or actual
serious property damage, the landlord may deliver a written notice for immediate
termination of the rental agreement and shall proceed under section 33-1377.
B. A tenant may not withhold rent for any reason not authorized by this chapter.
If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days
after written notice by the landlord of nonpayment and the landlord's intention
to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period of
time, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement by filing a special
detainer action pursuant to section 33-1377. Prior to the filing of a special
detainer action the rental agreement shall be reinstated if the tenant tenders
all past due and unpaid periodic rent and a reasonable late fee set forth in a
written rental agreement. After a special detainer action is filed the rental
agreement is reinstated only if the tenant pays all past due rent, reasonable
late fees set forth in a written rental agreement, attorney fees and court
costs. After a judgment has been entered in a special detainer action in favor
of the landlord, any reinstatement of the rental agreement is solely in the
discretion of the landlord.
C. The landlord may recover all reasonable damages, resulting from noncompliance
by the tenant with the rental agreement or section 33-1341 or occupancy of the
dwelling unit, court costs, reasonable attorney fees and all quantifiable damage
caused by the tenant to the premises.
D. The landlord may discontinue utility services provided by the landlord on the
day following the day that a writ of restitution or execution is executed
pursuant to section 12-1181. Disconnections shall be performed only by a person
authorized by the utility whose service is being discontinued. Nothing in this
section shall supersede standard tariff and operational procedures that apply to
any public service corporation, municipal corporation or special districts
providing utility services in this state.
E. The landlord shall hold the tenant's personal property for a period of
twenty-one days beginning on the first day after a writ of restitution or writ
of execution is executed as prescribed in section 12-1181. The landlord shall
use reasonable care in moving and holding the tenant's property and may store
the tenant's property in an unoccupied dwelling unit owned by the landlord, the
unoccupied dwelling unit formerly occupied by the tenant or off the premises if
an unoccupied dwelling unit is not available. If the tenant's former dwelling
unit is used to store the property, the landlord may change the locks on that
unit at the landlord's discretion. The landlord shall prepare an inventory and
promptly notify the tenant of the location and cost of storage of the personal
property by sending a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested,
addressed to the tenant's last known address and to any of the tenant's
alternative addresses known to the landlord. To reclaim the personal property,
the tenant shall pay the landlord only for the cost of removal and storage for
the time the property is held by the landlord. Within five days after a written
offer by the tenant to pay these charges the landlord must surrender possession
of the personal property in the landlord's possession to the tenant upon the
tenant's tender of payment. If the landlord fails to surrender possession of the
personal property to the tenant, the tenant may recover the possessions or an
amount equal to the damages determined by the court if the landlord has
destroyed or disposed of the possessions before the twenty-one days specified in
this section or after the tenant's offer to pay. The tenant shall pay all
removal and storage costs accrued through the fifth day after the tenant's offer
to pay is received by the landlord or the date of delivery or surrender of the
property, whichever is sooner. Payment by the tenant relieves the landlord of
any further responsibility for the tenant's possessions.
F. A tenant does not have any right of access to that property until all
payments specified in subsection E of this section have been made in full,
except that the tenant may obtain clothing and the tools, apparatus and books of
a trade or profession and identification or financial documents including all
those related to the tenant's immigration status, employment status, public
assistance or medical care. If the landlord holds the property for the
twenty-one day period and the tenant does not make a reasonable effort to
recover it, the landlord, upon the expiration of twenty-one days as provided in
this subsection, may administer the personal property as provided in section
33-1370, subsection E. The landlord shall hold personal property after a writ of
restitution or writ of execution is executed for not more than twenty-one days
after such an execution. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the landlord
and tenant from making an agreement providing that the landlord will hold the
personal property for a period longer than twenty-one days.
G. For the purposes of this chapter, the tenant shall be held responsible for
the actions of the tenant's guests that violate the lease agreement or rules or
regulations of the landlord if the tenant could reasonably be expected to be
aware that such actions might occur and did not attempt to prevent those actions
to the best of the tenant's ability.
H. For purposes of this section, "days" means calendar days.
33-1369 - Failure to maintain
If there is noncompliance by the tenant with section 33-1341 materially
affecting health and safety that can be remedied by repair, replacement of a
damaged item or cleaning and the tenant fails to comply as promptly as
conditions require in case of emergency or within fourteen days after written
notice by the landlord specifying the breach and requesting that the tenant
remedy it within that period of time, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit
and cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and submit an itemized
bill for the actual and reasonable cost or the fair and reasonable value thereof
as rent on the next date when periodic rent is due, or if the rental agreement
has terminated, for immediate payment.
33-1370 - Abandonment; notice; remedies;
personal property; definition
A. If a dwelling unit is abandoned after the time prescribed in subsection H of
this section, the landlord shall send the tenant a notice of abandonment by
certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the tenant's last known
address and to any of the tenant's alternate addresses known to the landlord.
The landlord shall also post a notice of abandonment on the door to the dwelling
unit or any other conspicuous place on the property for five days.
B. Five days after notice of abandonment has been both posted and mailed, the
landlord may retake the dwelling unit and rerent the dwelling unit at a fair
rental value if no personal property remains in the dwelling unit. After the
landlord retakes the dwelling unit, money held by the landlord as a security
deposit is forfeited and shall be applied to the payment of any accrued rent and
other reasonable costs incurred by the landlord by reason of the tenant's
abandonment.
C. If the tenant abandons the dwelling unit, the landlord shall make reasonable
efforts to rent it at a fair rental. If the landlord rents the dwelling unit for
a term beginning prior to the expiration of the rental agreement, it is deemed
to be terminated as of the date the new tenancy begins. If the landlord fails to
use reasonable efforts to rent the dwelling unit at a fair rental or if the
landlord accepts the abandonment as a surrender, the rental agreement is deemed
to be terminated by the landlord as of the date the landlord has notice of the
abandonment. If the tenancy is from month to month or week to week, the term of
the rental agreement for this purpose shall be deemed to be a month or a week,
as the case may be.
D. After the landlord has retaken possession of the dwelling unit, the landlord
may store the tenant's personal possessions in the unoccupied dwelling unit that
was abandoned by the tenant, in any other available unit or any storage space
owned by the landlord or off the premises if a dwelling unit or storage space is
not available. The landlord shall notify the tenant of the location of the
personal property in the same manner prescribed in subsection A of this section.
E. The landlord shall hold the tenant's personal property for a period of ten
days after the landlord's declaration of abandonment. The landlord shall use
reasonable care in holding the tenant's personal property. If the landlord holds
the property for this period and the tenant makes no reasonable effort to
recover it, the landlord may sell the property, retain the proceeds and apply
them toward the tenant's outstanding rent or other costs which are covered in
the lease agreement or otherwise provided for in title 33, chapter 10 or title
12, chapter 8 and have been incurred by the landlord due to the tenant's
abandonment. Any excess proceeds shall be mailed to the tenant at the tenant's
last known address. A tenant does not have any right of access to that property
until the actual removal and storage costs have been paid in full, except that
the tenant may obtain clothing and the tools, apparatus and books of a trade or
profession and any identification or financial documents, including all those
related to the tenant's immigration status, employment status, public assistance
or medical care. If provided by a written rental agreement, the landlord may
destroy or otherwise dispose of some or all of the property if the landlord
reasonably determines that the value of the property is so low that the cost of
moving, storage and conducting a public sale exceeds the amount that would be
realized from the sale.
F. For a period of twelve months after the sale the landlord shall:
1. Keep adequate records of the outstanding and unpaid rent and the sale of the
tenant's personal property.
2. Hold any excess proceeds which have been returned as undeliverable for the
benefit of the tenant.
G. If the tenant notifies the landlord in writing on or before the date the
landlord sells or otherwise disposes of the personal property that the tenant
intends to remove the personal property from the dwelling unit or the place of
safekeeping, the tenant has five days to reclaim the personal property. To
reclaim the personal property the tenant must only pay the landlord for the cost
of removal and storage for the period the tenant's personal property remained in
the landlord's safekeeping.
H. In this section "abandonment" means either the absence of the
tenant from the dwelling unit, without notice to the landlord for at least seven
days, if rent for the dwelling unit is outstanding and unpaid for ten days and
there is no reasonable evidence other than the presence of the tenant's personal
property that the tenant is occupying the residence or the absence of the tenant
for at least five days, if the rent for the dwelling unit is outstanding and
unpaid for five days and none of the tenant's personal property is in the
dwelling unit.
33-1371 - Acceptance of partial payments
A. A landlord is not required to accept a partial payment of rent or other
charges. A landlord accepting a partial payment of rent or other charges retains
the right to proceed against a tenant only if the tenant agrees in a
contemporaneous writing to the terms and conditions of the partial payment with
regard to continuation of the tenancy. The written agreement shall contain a
date on which the balance of the rent is due. The landlord may proceed as
provided in article 4 of this chapter and in title 12, chapter 8 against a
tenant in breach of this agreement or any other breach of the original rental
agreement. If the landlord has provided the tenant with a notice of failure to
pay rent as specified in section 33-1368, subsection B prior to the completion
of the agreement for partial payment, no additional notice under section
33-1368, subsection B is required in case of a breach of the partial payment
agreement.
B. Except as specified in subsection A of this section, acceptance of rent, or
any portion thereof, with knowledge of a default by tenant or acceptance of
performance by the tenant that varied from the terms of the rental agreement or
rules or regulations subsequently adopted by the landlord constitutes a waiver
of the right to terminate the rental agreement for that breach.
33-1372 - Landlord liens; distraint for rent
A. A lien or security interest on behalf of the landlord in the tenant's
household goods is not enforceable unless perfected before the effective date of
this chapter.
B. Distraint for rent is abolished.
33-1373 - Remedy after termination
If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord may have a claim for
possession and for rent and a separate claim for actual damages for breach of
the rental agreement.
33-1374 - Recovery of possession limited
A landlord may not recover or take possession of the dwelling unit by action or
otherwise, including forcible removal of the tenant or his possessions, willful
diminution of services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption
of electric, gas, water or other essential service to the tenant, except in case
of abandonment, surrender or as permitted in this chapter.
33-1375 - Periodic tenancy; hold-over remedies
A. The landlord or the tenant may terminate a week-to-week tenancy by a written
notice given to the other at least ten days prior to the termination date
specified in the notice.
B. The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a
written notice given to the other at least thirty days prior to the periodic
rental date specified in the notice.
C. If the tenant remains in possession without the landlord's consent after
expiration of the term of the rental agreement or its termination, the landlord
may bring an action for possession and if the tenant's holdover is willful and
not in good faith the landlord, in addition, may recover an amount equal to not
more than two months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages sustained by the
landlord, whichever is greater. If the landlord consents in writing to the
tenant's continued occupancy, section 33-1314, subsection D applies.
33-1376 - Landlord and tenant remedies for
abuse of access
A. If the tenant refuses to allow lawful access, the landlord may obtain
injunctive relief to compel access, or terminate the rental agreement. In either
case, the landlord may recover actual damages.
B. If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable
manner or makes repeated demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the
effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant, the tenant may obtain injunctive
relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental
agreement. In either case, the tenant may recover actual damages not less than
an amount equal to one month's rent.
33-1377 - Special detainer actions; service;
trial postponement
A. Special detainer actions shall be instituted for remedies prescribed in
section 33-1368. Except as provided in this section, the procedure and appeal
rights prescribed in title 12, chapter 8, article 4 apply to special detainer
actions.
B. The summons shall be issued on the day the complaint is filed and shall
command the person against whom the complaint is made to appear and answer the
complaint at the time and place named which shall be not more than six nor less
than three days from the date of the summons. The tenant is deemed to have
received the summons three days after the summons is mailed if personal service
is attempted and within one day of issuance of the summons a copy of the summons
is conspicuously posted on the main entrance of the tenant's residence and on
the same day the summons is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to
the tenant's last known address. The summons in a special detainer action shall
be served at least two days before the return day and the return day made on the
day assigned for trial. Service of process in this manner shall be deemed the
equivalent of having served the tenant in person for the purposes of awarding a
money judgment for all rent, damages, costs and attorney fees due.
C. For good cause shown supported by an affidavit, the trial may be postponed
for not more than three days in a justice court or five days in the superior
court.
D. In addition to determining the right to actual possession, the court may
assess damages, attorney fees and costs as prescribed by law.
E. If a complaint is filed alleging a material and irreparable breach pursuant
to section 33-1368, subsection A, the summons shall be issued as provided in
subsection B of this section, except that the trial date and return date shall
be set no later than the third day following the filing of the complaint. If
after the hearing the court finds by preponderance of the evidence that the
material and irreparable breach did occur, the court shall order restitution in
favor of the plaintiff not less than twelve nor more than twenty-four hours
later.
F. If the defendant is found guilty, the court shall give judgment for the
plaintiff for restitution of the premises, for late charges stated in the rental
agreement, for costs and, at the plaintiff's option, for all rent found to be
due and unpaid through the periodic rental period provided for in the rental
agreement as described in section 33-1314, subsection C and shall grant a writ
of restitution.
G. If the defendant is found not guilty, judgment shall be given for the
defendant against the plaintiff for costs, and if it appears that the plaintiff
has acquired possession of the premises since commencement of the action, a writ
of restitution shall issue in favor of the defendant.
33-1381 - Retaliatory conduct prohibited
A. Except as provided in this section, a landlord may not retaliate by
increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an
action for possession after any of the following:
1. The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with
responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation
applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety.
2. The tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under section
33-1324.
3. The tenant has organized or become a member of a tenants' union or similar
organization.
4. The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with the
responsibility for enforcement of the wage-price stabilization act.
B. If the landlord acts in violation of subsection A of this section, the tenant
is entitled to the remedies provided in section 33-1367 and has a defense in
action against him for possession. In an action by or against the tenant,
evidence of a complaint within six months prior to the alleged act of
retaliation creates a presumption that the landlord's conduct was in
retaliation. The presumption does not arise if the tenant made the complaint
after notice of termination of the rental agreement. "Presumption", in
this subsection, means that the trier of fact must find the existence of the
fact presumed unless and until evidence is introduced which would support a
finding of its nonexistence.
C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this section, a landlord may bring an
action for possession if either of the following occurs:
1. The violation of the applicable building or housing code was caused primarily
by lack of reasonable care by the tenant or other person in his household or
upon the premises with his consent.
2. The tenant is in default in rent. The maintenance of the action does not
release the landlord from liability under section 33-1361, subsection B.