questions & answers

Question: My girlfriend is the manager of the apartment complex where we live. She has me listed on the management portal (resident log-in) as “roommate” and as the manager, she is on a month-to-month lease. The quarantine has been difficult for her, but she has a track record of less than pleasant behavior and I have recorded her. There is a quarantine due to COVID I have a medical order advising that I self quarantine. Can she kick me out at whim or lock me out of my home or otherwise threaten me since there is an Executive Order in place and I am a Protected Class?

Answer: I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you are having. If you pay rent directly to the apartment complex, you certainly have a strong argument that you are a tenant, and, in order to evict you, they would need to comply with the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act. Given that it is month-to-month, the apartment complex could terminate the lease with 30 days notice and thereafter seek to evict you. In light of the pandemic, however, evictions are all but at a standstill. You would have an argument to stay based on Governor Ducey's stay on evictions for pandemic-related issues (you must demonstrate that the pandemic has caused you to lose income). If you do not pay rent, or you just pay her rent, If you are listed as a "roommate", you have an argument that you are protected under the Act and could not be evicted without the complex going through the steps of giving you notice and filing an eviction action. If you are simply a "guest" rather than a tenant, there is a statute that would allow her to call the police to have you removed. But as I stated above, I think you can argue that you have rights as a "roommate". Here is that statute: 33-1378. Removal of guest A person who is a guest of a tenant who is not named on a written lease and who remains on the premises without the permission of the tenant or the landlord is not a lawful tenant and that person's presence in or on the premises does not constitute residency or tenancy. A person who knowingly remains on the premises without the permission of the tenant or the landlord may be removed by a law enforcement officer at the request of the tenant or the landlord who is entitled to possession of the premises. Here is a link to the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act containing the statutes I referenced and other helpful statutes. Please do be sure to comply with the specific notice requirements in each statute: https://housing.az.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/Landlord-Tenant-Act-ADOH-Publication-July-2018_0.pdf