Arizona eviction law

If rent is unpaid when due, give written notice of the nonpayment and of your intention to terminate the lease if rent is not paid. If the tenant does not pay within five calendar days after the notice, you may terminate by filing a special detainer action.

A.R.S. § 33-1368(B) A.R.S. § 33-1368(G)

• Before you file, the lease is reinstated if the tenant tenders all past-due rent and a reasonable late fee set forth in a written lease. After filing, reinstatement also requires attorney fees and court costs. After judgment for you, reinstatement is your choice. A.R.S. § 33-1368(B)
• A notice is received when delivered in hand or mailed by registered or certified mail; a mailed notice counts as received on actual receipt or five days after mailing, whichever is first. A.R.S. § 33-1313(B)
• If you gave the nonpayment notice before a written partial payment agreement, you need no new notice if the tenant breaks that agreement. A.R.S. § 33-1371(A)
• No court or agency may require a particular form for the notice; a notice with the content the statute requires is enough. A.R.S. § 33-1305(C)

For a material noncompliance, give written notice naming the breach and stating that the lease will end on a date at least 10 days after the tenant receives it unless the breach is fixed within 10 days. For a failure of the tenant's upkeep duties that materially affects health and safety, the period is five days.

A.R.S. § 33-1368(A)

• If the same or a similar breach happens again during the lease, you may file a special detainer action 10 days after written notice that a second noncompliance has occurred. A.R.S. § 33-1368(A)
• For a material and irreparable breach on the premises, such as an illegal discharge of a weapon, serious violent crime, drug activity, or conduct that jeopardizes others' health and safety or threatens serious property damage, you may give written notice of immediate termination and file a special detainer action. A.R.S. § 33-1368(A) A.R.S. § 33-1377(E)
• The tenant is responsible for guests' lease violations the tenant could reasonably have foreseen and did not try to prevent. A.R.S. § 33-1368(F)
• Accepting rent with knowledge of a default waives the right to terminate for that breach, except under a contemporaneous written partial payment agreement or a housing assistance payment. A.R.S. § 33-1371(C) See Partial payments and waiver on the Arizona page

Eviction for nonpayment or breach is a special detainer action in justice court or superior court. The summons issues when the complaint is filed and sets an appearance three to six days later, and it must be served at least two days before the return day. The court rules for eviction cases were not read for this page.

A.R.S. § 33-1377(A) A.R.S. § 33-1377(B) A.R.S. § 22-201(C)

• For a material and irreparable breach, trial is set no later than the third day after filing, and restitution is ordered 12 to 24 hours after a finding for you. A.R.S. § 33-1377(E)
• Trial may be postponed for good cause by no more than three days in justice court or five in superior court. A.R.S. § 33-1377(C)
• A judgment for you covers possession, late charges in the lease, costs and, at your option, rent due through the rental period. No writ of restitution issues until five calendar days after judgment. A.R.S. § 33-1377(F) A.R.S. § 12-1178(C)
• For covered eviction actions, the court seals the records when it dismisses the case before judgment or enters judgment for the tenant. The court also seals the case when the landlord and tenant file a written stipulation to set aside the eviction order and seal the file. A private agreement alone is not the court order. The statute limits access to sealed records and prohibits the court and record custodian from transferring them to third parties individually or in bulk. Check the actual disposition and sealing order, and resolve a stale or mismatched report entry before relying on it; a record appearing in a screening report does not itself establish that its use is lawful. A.R.S. § 33-1379
• After an eviction judgment is paid in full, file a satisfaction of judgment within 40 days. If you do not respond within 15 days after a tenant's motion to compel it is filed and served, the judgment is deemed satisfied on the tenant's proof of payment and the court may seal the eviction records. A.R.S. § 22-247(A) A.R.S. § 22-247(E) A.R.S. § 12-1567(A) A.R.S. § 12-1567(E) A.R.S. § 33-1379
• A lease may award attorney fees only to the prevailing party, and a prevailing party in a contested eviction may get fees either way. A.R.S. § 33-1315(A)

You may not take possession by removing the tenant or the tenant's belongings or by interrupting electric, gas, water or other essential service, except after abandonment, surrender or as the Act permits.

A.R.S. § 33-1374

• For an unlawful ouster or willful interruption of essential service, the tenant may recover possession or end the lease, and recover up to two months' rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater. A.R.S. § 33-1367
• You may not shut off utilities you provide under the lease except to make needed repairs or after a writ, and you may not shift a utility bill to the tenant after signing without the tenant's written consent. A.R.S. § 33-1364(B) A.R.S. § 33-1364(C)
• After a writ of restitution is executed, you may discontinue utilities you provide on the following day, but only through a person the utility authorizes. A.R.S. § 33-1368(D)
• Distraint for rent is abolished, and a landlord lien on household goods is not enforceable. A.R.S. § 33-1372

A home is abandoned when the tenant has been absent without notice for at least seven days with rent unpaid for 10 days and no sign of occupancy other than belongings, or absent for at least five days with rent unpaid for five days and no belongings left. Send a notice of abandonment by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the tenant's last known address and every alternate address you know, and post it on the door or another conspicuous place for five days; five days after it is both posted and mailed, you may retake the home.

A.R.S. § 33-1370(J) A.R.S. § 33-1370(A) A.R.S. § 33-1370(B)

• If belongings remain, make an inventory, notify the tenant of where they are and the storage cost, and hold them for 14 calendar days with reasonable care. After that you may donate, sell or, if their value is too low, dispose of them, applying sale proceeds to what the tenant owes and mailing any excess. A.R.S. § 33-1370(D) A.R.S. § 33-1370(F)
• Before the sale, a tenant who gives written notice has five days to reclaim the property by paying removal and storage costs, and may always obtain clothing, work tools, and identification and financial documents. A.R.S. § 33-1370(F) A.R.S. § 33-1370(H)
• For 12 months after a sale, keep adequate records of the unpaid rent and the sale, and hold for the tenant any excess proceeds returned as undeliverable. A.R.S. § 33-1370(G)
• Perishables and plants may be disposed of; animals may be released to a shelter after one day's notice to any person the tenant authorized, or cared for. A.R.S. § 33-1370(E)
• If the tenant returned the keys, you may remove and dispose of property left behind right away unless you agreed otherwise in writing. A.R.S. § 33-1370(I)
• After a writ of restitution is executed, the same inventory, storage and sale rules apply to the tenant's property. A.R.S. § 33-1368(E)
• You may ask the tenant for a person authorized to retrieve belongings and animals if the tenant dies or is incapacitated. A.R.S. § 33-1314(E)

You may not raise rent, cut services, or bring or threaten an action for possession because the tenant complained to a code enforcement agency about a health and safety violation, complained to you about a failure to keep the home fit, organized or joined a tenants' union, or complained to a government agency enforcing the wage-price stabilization act.

A.R.S. § 33-1381(A)

• A complaint within six months before the alleged retaliation creates a presumption of retaliation, unless the tenant complained after receiving a termination notice. A.R.S. § 33-1381(B)
• The tenant has a defense to eviction and may recover possession or end the lease and recover up to two months' rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater. A.R.S. § 33-1381(B) A.R.S. § 33-1367
• You may still sue for possession if the tenant is in default in rent or the code violation was caused mainly by the tenant's household or guests. A.R.S. § 33-1381(C)