questions & answers

Question: I am 6 months pregnant.The person renting me a room is not allowing me in the house.This happened when she moved my belongings without saying a word and when I asked for her to return them, she kept some and returned others, and I confronted her about them civilly through text because she does not allow me to get in a word.The items are low in value, it was the principle that my property is not safe.She has brought her mom over to the house who is trying to say she is not leaving. What can I do? I have scheduled to have a sheriff come to speak with us.

Answer: Without access to all the details, it appears that the person from whom you are renting a room may have violated her duties under Arizona law in several ways. Without knowing exactly what kind of resolution you are seeking – for example, whether you want to continue to live in the room or to get out of your rental agreement – it is difficult to point to which specific parts of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (A.R.S. Title 33 Chapter 10) apply. However, regardless of what your specific goal is, the best thing to do in this kind of situation is to put everything in writing. Sending formal letters that are signed and dated letter certified mail (keeping a copy for your own records) describing the situation in detail with a request will put a tenant in a much stronger position to exercise their legal options in the future. Under A.R.S. 33-1367, if a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant from the premises, that tenant may either recover possession or terminate the rental agreement – and, in either case, also recover an amount up to two months’ periodic rent or twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant, whichever is greater. But the tenant must be able to demonstrate to the judge that the landlord was made aware of the situation by the tenant and despite that written notice still did nothing.