Basic Rights
Arizona loves its landlords. It shows it by rejecting rent control, making evicting easy, and letting landlords run wild with late fees, but you can fight back if you learn your rights and organize. This state's housing laws are complicated, and some housing codes intersect depending on your location. This is only a brief declaration of your rights, so we recommend learning more about the laws that affect you in our resources and elsewhere.
Living conditions: Your landlord must provide safe, sanitary, and livable housing conditions. This means there must be working plumbing, heat, ventilation, garbage disposal, and no pest infestations, among other rules.
Discrimination: You cannot be refused rent, charged more, or forced to follow different rules than other tenants because of your race, color, national origin, sex, familial status, religion, or disability.
Retaliation: Your landlord may not retaliate against you for reporting housing code violations or being part of a tenants union. Retaliation may look like increased rent, eviction, threats of evictions, or decreasing services to you within six (6) months of your actions.
Lock change: Your landlord may not force you or your things out of your home without a court order. This is called a "self-help" eviction, and your landlord may owe monetary damages if attempted.
Utility shut-off: Your landlord may not disconnect your utilities under any circumstance and may likewise owe you monetary damages if attempted.
Deposit: Your landlord may not charge you more than the equivalent of one and a half months rent for your security deposit. If nonrefundable, it must be stated. The landlord must return your security deposit within 14 days from the date you move out along with an itemized explanation for any deductions for repairs.
Privacy and respect: Your landlord must give two days' notice of intent to enter and only enter at reasonable times (like making repairs that you have asked for). Your landlord only has the right to immediate entry in a case of emergency or by court order. If they have entered your home without proper notice, or in a harassing manner, you can file an "injunction" to stop them from doing it again, and you may recover actual damages equal to at least one month's rent.
For in-depth information on Tenants Rights and Responsibilities, check out this handbook and the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.