Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: What is the landlord's responsibility when they shut off the water for longer than 5 hours?

Answer: Under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (A.R.S. Title 33 Chapter 10), landlords are required (among other things) to “maintain in good and safe working order and condition” all plumbing and related systems and to “supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times” (A.R.S. 33-1324). An occasional shutdown for maintenance purposes is perfectly acceptable, so long as (1) the water is not being turned off so frequently as to mean that the landlord is failing to keep the premises “in a fit and habitable condition” (A.R.S. 33-1324) and (2) the landlord provides as much advance notice as is reasonably possible (A.R.S. 33-1313). There are no specific rules about how long the occasional shutdown may last before the landlord will be in violation of the landlord’s obligations.