Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

questions & answers

Question: Who does a landlord get reported to if they fail to issue security deposits within 14 days?

Answer: Under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA), a landlord is only required to return a former tenant’s security deposit after the tenant has demanded the return of their security deposit in writing. The 14-day period (excluding weekends and holidays) only begins once the landlord has received the demand from the tenant (A.R.S. 33-1321(D)). If the landlord fails to respond to the written demand by the tenant for the return of the security deposit by providing the tenant with an itemized list of deductions (if any) along with the amount due and payable to the tenant (if any) within 14 business days, then the ARLTA says that the tenant may sue the landlord in court for not only the amount of the deposit that was originally owed to the tenant but also twice that amount in damages, for a total of 3x the amount that the tenant was owed (A.R.S. 33-1321(E)).