questions & answers

Question: Does an apartment complex have to provide window screens to the top floor apartments. I asked management and they said they would not provide them and also that I was not permitted to buy and install them myself. This is a safety issue as I have an 8 year old daughter and bees and just recently a hawk flew into my apartment. Also, it's a high second floor apartment and the windows go below waist level, so a child can fall out pretty easily. What are my options?

Answer: Requests directed at a landlord tend to be most effective when made in writing – in the form of a signed and dated letter describing the problem in detail and requesting either (1) that the landlord fix the problem as soon as reasonably possible and/or (2) that the tenant be permitted to fix the problem herself. (The tenant should keep a copy of this letter for her records.) The applicable law – Section 33-1324 of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act – says only that landlords must “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.” It does not address window screens. If your landlord disagrees with your analysis that the missing screens constitute a health and safety problem that needs to be fixed, then you may not have too many options. As a last resort, you could always contact an attorney for assistance in moving out of that apartment on the basis that your daughter is at serious risk of injury there.