Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: What article says that a landlord can not shut off utilities

Answer: Residential landlords here in Arizona are not permitted to shut off their tenants’ utilities during the tenancy. They may do so only after the rental agreement has ended and/or with the permission of a court (after an eviction order has been granted). This is reflected in multiple sections of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) Title 33 Chapter 10). For example, A.R.S. § 33-1367 states that if a landlord “wilfully diminishes services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of electric, gas, water or other essential service to the tenant,” then the tenant may either recover possession of the rental unit or terminate the rental agreement and, in either case, also recover an amount of up to two months’ rent or twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant, whichever is greater. This demonstrates how very serious a violation of the law it is for a landlord to shut off a current tenant’s utilities. Both A.R.S. § 33-1324, which requires the landlord to “keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition” and to “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,” and A.R.S. § 33-1364, which provides the tenant with a series of optional remedies if a 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,” also reinforce this important point.