Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: Can a landlord require the carpets to be cleaned by an approved vendors list? Secondly, can the use your deposit to pay for the second cleaning, even though the first company cleaned them very well?

Answer: Arizona law (which includes the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) does not specifically address these particular issues – in part because landlords and tenants have the freedom to enter into rental agreements containing very particular rights and responsibilities. The applicable general rule is that, unless the rental agreement says otherwise (for example, by making the tenant responsible for a particular level of maintenance or cleaning or by charging the tenant a specified fee for cleaning), the tenant must “exercise diligence to maintain the premises in as good condition as when he took possession, ordinary wear and tear excepted” (A.R.S. 33-321).