questions & answers

Question: My wife and I moved into a rental home on 3/1/18 in Tucson, Arizona, and almost immediately my wife and I started having breathing problems when inside the house. We do not experience any of this when outside the house. Upon my inspection, I noticed black mold inside and out of the guest bathroom toilet. The management company sent their maintenance person who after getting clearance (1 week) they removed and replaced the toilet. The odor was abated for approximately 2 days and returned with the entire inside of the house smelling musty. It is more pungent in the laundry room and master bathroom. I have found mold in the master bathroom toilet on the inside. I went to the Management Company on 3/22/18 to advise them we continue to find mold in the house and my wife and myself are having breathing problems, mucus and headaches when we are in the home. We are having no issues when we are not inside the home and outside at work or living our active life style. and to see if they would look into this and was advised it was on me and I should hire a mold technician check it out. If mold is found then the Management company would move on it. Why would I have to have this expense, it’s not my house, we just moved in and I feel this is the landlords responsibility. Can you please advise if there is any action I might take that would not cost a large amount of money to get the management company to do their job and do due diligence on this issue. Also, if you know of any agency in Tucson that controls these types of issues between Tenants and their landlords/Management Companies please let me know. Thank you.

Answer: Under Section 33-1324 of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords are required to “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.” A tenant whose landlord is failing to fulfill the landlord’s obligations under A.R.S. 33-1324 may wish, as a first step, to provide the landlord with formal written notice of the problem, by delivering to the landlord a letter describing the problem in detail and requesting that the landlord fix the problem as soon as possible. It is always recommended that the tenant keep a careful record of all communications with the landlord. If the landlord does nothing to fix the problem, then the tenant will want to be able to prove that the tenant made formal requests of the landlord. It is also always recommended that the tenant take time-stamped photos and/or video to serve as a documentary record of the problem. If, after what the law describes only as a “reasonable” period of time, the landlord does nothing to fix the problem, then the tenant has several options. If the tenant wishes to terminate the lease and vacate the dwelling, then the tenant may deliver to the landlord a second written notice identifying the problem and stating that if the problem is not fixed within 10 days after the landlord receives this notice then the rental agreement will terminate (A.R.S. 33-1361). (If the problem is so serious that it is affecting or threatening to affect the health and safety of the tenant(s), then a tenant who wishes to terminate the rental agreement may deliver to the landlord written notice stating that if the problem is not fixed within 5 days after the landlord receives this notice then the rental agreement will terminate (A.R.S. § 33-1361).) Again, the tenant should be sure to have evidence not only of the severity of the problem but also of the tenant’s requests to the landlord that the problem be fixed. If you would like to continue to live in the dwelling, a housing attorney at Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc., which is based in Tucson, may be able to advise you. The online application is available here: http://www.azlawhelp.org/accessToJustice.