Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: I have served my apartments with a 5 day notice to fix or vacate and they are saying I need to file papers with the justice court. Do I need to and can you tell me what they are?

Answer: The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA) states the following, at Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) Section 33-1361(A): “If there is a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement . . . the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than ten days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in ten days. If there is a noncompliance by the landlord with section 33-1324 materially affecting health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than five days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in five days.” Under the ARLTA, the landlord is required by law to “comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially affecting health and safety”; “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition”; “maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances ... supplied or required to be supplied by him”; and “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, when required by seasonal weather conditions” (A.R.S. 33-1324). A tenant whose landlord has breached the landlord’s obligations under A.R.S. 33-1324 by failing to fix a serious problem is permitted by A.R.S. 33-1361(A) to deliver to the landlord the notice described above, provide the landlord with the required time to fix the problem (either 10 days or 5 days, depending on the nature of the problem), then terminate the rental agreement and vacate the dwelling if the landlord still fails to fix it. A tenant who wishes to terminate a rental agreement on these grounds should document carefully both the condition of the dwelling (with photographs or video and witnesses) and the tenant’s attempts to notify the landlord of the problem. A tenant exercising their right under A.R.S. 33-1361(A) does not need to file any papers with the court.