questions & answers

Question: I am on a month to month lease. On December 4th I gave notice to landlord that my last day in the property will be January 5th. They are stating I am violating the law and that my 30 day notice is not valid as I would have had to give it to then November 30th for December 31st move out date. Is this true?

Answer: Unless the parties both agree otherwise when the rental agreement is executed to have rent be owed on a date other than the first of each month, then notice of termination should be at least 30 days before the next rental period begins. However, under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA), both parties are required to exercise their rights and remedies “in good faith” (A.R.S. 33-1311) so a landlord cannot lawfully charge a tenant for a full extra month just because the tenant is late in providing notice for a couple of days unless (1) the rental agreement expressly permits it and (2) the landlord makes a genuine, but unsuccessful, attempt to find a new tenant by the first of the month. (Under the ARLTA, the landlord has a legal duty to “mitigate” (reduce) any monetary losses the vacating tenant may suffer (A.R.S. 33-1305).