questions & answers

Question: My boyfriend and I and out 8 year old son are currently renting a house from my boyfriends grandmother. We moved in to the house in may. There was never a written rental agreement but we are paying her cash every month for rent. We have all the utilities in our name, and our mail comes here. Long story short she came to our house, stole our dog and we had her arrested. She is now threatening to evict us (we are looking to move anyways now) but wants us out asap. We have been here been in the house 8 months. Would she have to go through the courts for eviction?

Answer: Given that you and your boyfriend have been paying regular rent (plus utilities) in exchange for the right to reside in the house, you should now have the status of residential tenants on a month-to-month rental agreement, even though you and your landlord (his grandmother) never signed a formal written lease. A landlord who wants to evict a tenant must give that tenant advance written notice and then file a “special detainer” action in court. The landlord will be required to make statements under oath and will only be permitted to pursue the eviction if tenant has failed to pay rent or otherwise violated the rental agreement (A.R.S. 33-1368). However, a landlord may give 30 days written notice of the landlord’s intention to terminate a month-to-month rental agreement, without providing a reason. But 30 days is the minimum.