questions & answers

Question: How can I kick my ex girlfriend out of the home I own? broke up with my ex about 2 yrs ago. She didn't have anywhere else to go so I let her stay. She pays 30% rent and the water bill. I have repeatedly asked her to move out for months. I moved her stuff to the garage when she refused. I gave her an eviction notice for 30 days. She said that I can't legally evict her since she has established residency at my home and gets mail. I am being held hostage in my own home. I want to move on with my life and my new relationship.

Answer: When a homeowner is a landlord who has a rental agreement with no specified term with another resident who is a tenant, then the landlord simply needs to deliver to the tenant a signed and dated written notice, keeping a copy for his own records and either delivered by hand with a witness present or sent by certified mail, informing the tenant that the rental agreement will terminate, and that the tenant will be required to vacate, on a date at least 30 days after receipt of the notice. Under Arizona law, if, even after receiving this notice, and the rental agreement has terminated, the tenant refuses to vacate the premises, then the landlord may seek her eviction. This is what the applicable statute (A.R.S. 33-1375), which is part of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, says: “If the tenant remains in possession without the landlord’s consent after expiration of the term of the rental agreement or its termination, the landlord may bring an action for possession and if the tenant’s holdover is willful and not in good faith the landlord, in addition, may recover an amount equal to not more than two months’ periodic rent or twice the actual damages sustained by the landlord, whichever is greater.”