questions & answers

Question: I have rented this home for 7 months and during that entire time this house has had sewer cockroaches. Landlord has tried everything but they are still everywhere, especially in the kitchen, on counter tops, stove, cabinets and many other places.I want to break lease based on these conditions. Is this possible? Sewer roaches (American) carry numerous germs that can affect humans and pet health via diseases. What are my rights based on this situation? Can you please help me?

Answer: If you have a written lease, you should consult it. Either way, the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act will have good information for you. It can be found here: https://housing.az.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/AZ%20Residential%20Landlord%20and%20Tenant%20Act%20-%20Revised%20July%203%202015.pdf

Specifically, you should look to A.R.S. 33-1324, which statute requires the landlord to maintain the premises fit and habitable and clean and safe. If the cockroach infestation cannot be attributed to any actions of your own, the landlord is likely liable. In order to break the lease, you are required to give notice and an opportunity to cure the breach. You need to refer to A.R.S. 33-1361. Specifically, you are required to give ten days written notice and an opportunity to cure before you leave. If the issue "materially affect[s] health and safety", that period can go down to 5 days. You need to be the judge of that in this situation. Essentially, you are required to write a letter indicating that the landlord is in breach of A.R.S. 33-1324 because he or she has failed to maintain fit, habitable, safe, and clean premises and that, as a result of this breach, your lease will terminate on ____________ (a date no less than ten days from the date you deliver the notice) if he or she does not soon remedy the breach. You can hand-deliver the notice. If you do not, I recommend sending it by an overnight trackable courier service such as FedEx or UPS. The ten day deadline should be from the date it will be delivered to the landlord. If the landlord does not fix the problem in the ten days, then the lease will terminate and you are free to move out without further liability under the lease (although the landlord may of course challenge you in court). Please note that I am providing general information based on the very limited information available to me.