questions & answers

Question: Am I required by law to give a formal 5 or 10 day notice for repairs for lack of hot water to terminate our lease if no reasonable effort was made within 5 days to fix the issue or was our initial maintenance request sufficient notice of the problem?

Answer: The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act at A.R.S. 33-1361 says the following: “If there is a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement ... the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than ten days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in ten days. If there is a noncompliance by the landlord with section 33-1324 materially affecting health and safety [such as a failure to supply “reasonable amounts of hot water”], the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than five days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in five days.” What this means is that the tenant must provide the landlord with written notice not only of the existence of a problem but also of the tenant’s intention to terminate the rental agreement if that problem is not fixed within 5 or 10 days (depending on whether it materially affects health and safety).