The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Law
(click here to link to the law on-line)
Separating Fact From Fiction:
FICTION: There is an "automatic grace period," so the tenant has until the 5th of the month to pay the rent.
FACT: The rent is due on the day specified in the lease or rental agreement, and it is late on the next day, unless the agreement itself provides for a grace period. There is no built-in or automatic grace period under the law.
FICTION: If the tenant gets transferred on a job out-of-state or 50 miles away, or if the tenant buys a house, the tenant is entitled to break the lease, OR If the owner decides to sell the house, or move into the property, the owner is entitled to terminate the lease.
FACT: Generally, there are no grounds for the tenant to terminate the lease simply because of the purchase of a home or a job transfer, with one exception. If the tenant is active military and is transferred involuntarily under orders, the tenant may terminate the lease.
The owner may sell the property, but that does not terminate the lease -- in fact lease would travel with the title and the new owners would be obligated to the remaining term of the lease.
FICTION: Landlords always end up keeping the tenant security deposit.
FACT: If the lease designates the security deposit as refundable, it must be returned to the tenant within a presribed period of time, less and deductions for damages or unpaid charges. The deductions may not be for ordinary wear and tear, and the amount of any deductions must be substantiated, and not arbitrary.
In other words, the owner may not say "the kitchen wall needs repainting, so I am not going to return the tenant's one thousand dollar security deposit."
The owner could say, "The wall was seriously damaged from items the tenant fastened to it with large nails and screws, and I am deducting the amount of a bill I have from a repair person to fix the damage." The owner must provide in writing an enumeration of any deductions from the tenant security deposit.
If the owner fails to return the refundable portion of the deposit, after any documented charges, the tenant may be entitled to triple that amount in a court of law.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE INFORMATION IN THE FUTURE. This information is not meant to be a substitute for legal advice from a qualified attorney, but simply and overview of some of the general provisions of the Arizona Landlord and Tenant Law.
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