Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: My lease is over in 2 months and iam not going to be able to pay it have tio move what can i do.

Answer:

In the event you do not pay rent when it becomes due, the landlord has the right to first give written notice pursuant to A.R.S. 33-1368(B), from which date you have five days to pay the unpaid rent or the landlord may terminate the rental agreement by filing a lawsuit to ask to have you evicted.  If the landlord does so, you could become obligated for attorneys' fees, late fees, and costs.

While this is not legal advice, I believe the best course of action in such a situation is to make contact with the landlord and see if they will work with you to allow you to move out on a particular date, to apply your security deposit or a portion of it, and you agreeing to leave the premises clean and with all of your stuff moved so that the landlord can easily re-rent the premises.  I often see this situation work out dramatically better than waiting, not paying, and being evicted.  Having the eviction on your record can be devastating for future efforts to obtain housing as well.

If you have additional questions, I recommend consulting the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act at: http://azhousing.gov/azcms/uploads/PUBLICATIONS/Landlord%20Tenant%20Act.pdf