questions & answers

Question: I allowed some friends to stay with me until they found a place. Instead of finding a house, they spent all the money at a casino. They have brought drugs into my home and used them. It has now been almost two months and they have not found any where to live. He has MS and I feel bad but I don't want them here anymore. How do I get them out legally?

Answer: If a person is (or could be considered to be) entitled by a rental agreement – even just an oral agreement – to occupy the dwelling, then in theory that person is a tenant (A.R.S. 33-1310(16)) who therefore has a right to be provided with 30 days’ written notice by the landlord (A.R.S. 33-1375). The safest option when it is unclear whether the person is a tenant or merely a guest is to treat them as a tenant by giving them 30 days’ written notice stating that the rental agreement will terminate and they will need to vacate by the end of the following month. (The landlord should keep a copy of this notice for their own records and ideally have proof of its delivery to the tenant (for example an email or a witness). If the person is merely an unwanted guest, and not a tenant by any description, then the following rule applies: “A person who is a guest of a tenant who is not named on a written lease and who remains on the premises without the permission of the tenant or the landlord is not a lawful tenant and that person’s presence in or on the premises does not constitute residency or tenancy. A person who knowingly remains on the premises without the permission of the tenant or the landlord may be removed by a law enforcement officer at the request of the tenant or the landlord who is entitled to possession of the premises” (A.R.S. 33-1378).