questions & answers

Question: On 3/18/2014 we had a kitchen fire with major damage to the stove, micro hood, wall cabinets, countertop and smoke damage to the dining area. The completion of the project was delayed by the owner and the property management company. The owner took 3 weeks just to select a top color and then chose the existing one. The project was completed on 7/04/2014. All this time we were without the use of a stove, wall cabinets and vent hood. A demand letter for rent adjustment was denied and the rent was raised. Please advise if small claim court is my only option, thank you. M Gomez-4806502309

Answer: The landlord/tenant act requires a landlord to "maintain in good and safe working order and condition all....appliances supplied or required to be supplied by him." A.R.S. 33-1324 A 4. The act also states that if the dwelling unit is damaged by fire "to an extant enjoyment of the dwelling unit is substantially impaired" the "tenants liablitly for rent is reduced in proportion to the dimunation in the fair rental value of the unit". A.R.S. 33-1366 A 2. An action in small claims court is probably the best option. You should be aware, however, if the fire were "your fault" the landlord might be to assess you the reasonable costs of repair.