Arizona’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act gives renters real rights, but most of them only work if you use them the right way, usually in writing. I learned that the hard way. Here are the rights that matter most for the problems residents at The Beverly have run into, with links to the actual statutes.
Repairs
When repairs drag on
Your landlord must keep your apartment fit and habitable, with working plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning, and comply with building codes that affect health and safety (A.R.S. § 33-1324).
- Put it in writing. For a serious problem, deliver a written notice describing it. The landlord then has 10 days to fix it, or 5 days if it materially affects health and safety. If they don’t, you can end the lease on the date in your notice (A.R.S. § 33-1361).
- You can sue for damages, or for a court order to make the repairs, when the landlord doesn’t comply with the lease or the habitability rules. That’s in addition to ending the lease (A.R.S. § 33-1361, subsections B and C). Courts generally expect you to have given the written notice first.
- Minor repairs: after written notice, if the landlord doesn’t act, you can have a licensed contractor fix it and deduct up to the greater of $300 or half a month’s rent (A.R.S. § 33-1363). Follow the statute’s steps exactly before you try this.
- Essential services such as air conditioning, water, hot water, heat and electricity: if they’re cut off through the landlord’s fault, you may get them restored and deduct the cost, get substitute housing while rent stops, or sue for damages, including a reduction in rent for the time you went without (A.R.S. § 33-1364).
Our water leak went about three months before repairs started. What happened to us →
Your home
Contractors and entry
Except in an emergency, the landlord must give you at least two days’ notice before entering, and enter only at reasonable times (A.R.S. § 33-1343). If contractors are showing up with no schedule, ask in writing for notice before each visit.
Promises
A promised concession or credit
A verbal promise is hard to enforce. If you’re promised a concession, a credit or a refund:
- Ask for it in writing, by email or through the resident portal, with the amount and the date it will hit your ledger.
- If it was promised in person, follow up in writing the same day: “Confirming what you told me today: …”. That creates a record.
- If it never arrives, a written demand to the management company is the usual next step. Arizona justice courts hear small claims up to $3,500 without a lawyer.
Who you’re dealing with
You’re entitled to know who your landlord is
At or before the start of your lease, the landlord must tell you in writing the name and address of the person managing the property and of the owner (or the owner’s agent for legal notices), keep that current, and give it to you on request (A.R.S. § 33-1322). If your lease names one company and your rent goes to another, you can ask for that disclosure in writing. Our lease vs. our rent payments →
Speaking up
Retaliation is illegal
A landlord can’t raise your rent, cut services, or threaten or file an eviction because you complained about health and safety problems, complained to a government agency, or joined a tenant group (A.R.S. § 33-1381). Keep copies of every complaint you send, with dates.
Money
Fees and deposits
- Deposits, all of them combined including prepaid rent, are capped at 1.5 months’ rent. After you move out, the landlord has 14 days, not counting weekends and holidays, to return it with an itemized list of deductions (A.R.S. § 33-1321).
- Fees: ask for the total monthly cost, every mandatory fee included, before you pay an application fee. Greystar, which signs management’s replies to reviews here, settled with the FTC and Arizona over rents advertised without mandatory fees. See every fee on our statement.
Where to get help
- Arizona Courts: claims against your landlord, a plain-English guide from the state courts.
- Arizona Attorney General consumer complaints, for fee and advertising problems.
- The full Arizona statutes, Title 33 (the landlord-tenant act is chapter 10).
- LeaseReputation’s Arizona tenant rights guide, with deposit, eviction and notice timelines in one place.
- An Arizona attorney or a legal aid organization for advice about your own case.