questions & answers

Question: my apartments told me today (may I add this is the first I heard about this )that the reason I couldn't get my rent paid or excepted was due to I was getting evicted for supposedly having another person living in my apt not on the lease which is not true... then they proceed to tell me I needed to be out by the next day I didn't even get a phone call or letter an they know I work out of town this time they moved per 3 hours away.

Answer: If a landlord wishes to evict a tenant for (allegedly) violating the rental agreement, then the landlord must follow a formal process. First, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing. Second, the landlord (or the landlord’s attorney) must go to the courthouse to file an eviction complaint. Third, the landlord must serve the tenant with a summons and a copy of the eviction complaint, informing the tenant that an eviction hearing will be taking place in front of a judge at the courthouse on a specific future date, so that the tenant may (1) go to the courthouse to file a written response to the eviction complaint denying the landlord’s allegations and (2) appear at the hearing to argue against the requested eviction in court. If a landlord fails to follow this formal process, then the tenant should speak with an attorney immediately, BEFORE THE EVICTION HEARING TAKES PLACE. There are links to free and low-cost legal services on this website (at http://www.azlawhelp.org/accessToJustice) and the LegalLEARN Helpline toll-free telephone number is 1-866-637-5341.