Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: After being kicked out, how much time do I have to go back and get my belongings before the landlord can take legal possession of them?

Answer: Under A.R.S. 33-1368(E), the landlord shall hold the tenant's personal property for a period of twenty-one days beginning on the first day after a writ of restitution or writ of execution is executed. To reclaim the personal property, the tenant shall pay the landlord only for the cost of removal and storage for the time the property is held by the landlord. Within five days after a written offer by the tenant to pay these charges the landlord must surrender possession of the personal property...upon the tenant's tender of payment. If the landlord fails to surrender possession of the personal property to the tenant, the tenant may recover the possessions or an amount equal to the damages determined by the court if the landlord has destroyed or disposed of the possessions before the twenty-one days specified in this section or after the tenant's offer to pay.