questions & answers

Question: I am a Tenant At Will and the manager of the ***** is trying to evict me and will not accept my payment. I live at unit 12. I had to move from 5 because the sewer backed up, I was undergoing cancer treatment at the time and could not stay there. It never was fixed. Then management offered me unit 15 so I moved. The bathtub was not properly finished, so they offered me unit 12. We have had bedbugs, which they failed to treat properly. Then they called an exterminator. This apartment also has an rat or squirrel living in the walls and it sounds like a race track in here! Help.

Answer: Under Arizona law, a residential tenant who is living in a dwelling on a month-to-month rental agreement that does not have a specified end date must be provided with 30 days’ written notice by the landlord of the landlord’s intention to terminate the rental agreement and make the tenant vacate the dwelling (A.R.S. 33-1375). The rental agreement may be written or verbal (A.R.S. 33-1310). If a tenant believes that the landlord is refusing to accept monthly rent in order to be able to give a 5-day pay or vacate notice to the tenant and then go to court to seek the tenant’s eviction (under A.R.S. 33-1368 and A.R.S. 33-1377), then the tenant should carefully document the tenant’s attempts to pay rent to the landlord. For example, the tenant may hand the rent payment directly to the landlord with a witness present or send a check to the landlord by certified mail, return receipt requested. Any communication with the landlord about an attempt to pay rent is best if recorded in writing – by letter, email, text, etc. – that will permit the tenant to keep a copy to show to a judge if the landlord requests an eviction. Important to note is that Arizona law does not permit tenants to withhold rent in order to force a landlord to make repairs. If you would like to speak with an attorney about your specific situation, there are links to free or low-cost legal services on this website, and the LegalLEARN Helpline toll-free telephone number is 1-866-637-5341.