questions & answers

Question: Our building is pretty old and the plumbing here is always giving everyone problems. Usually the owner fixes it and that's that. Well this time, the toilet is plugged up and it's the 3rd time. It wasn't fixed right the first time or the second time. Because I have been having problems with it ever since. Including right after they supposedly fixed it the first time. So this time (3rd time) the landlord (not the owner) says I have to pay her husband to fix it. I have a 14 yo son n a 17 yo daughter as well as myself who is disabled n our room mate who islike 63 yo. Do I have to pay?

Answer: Under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA), a landlord is required by law to (among other things) “comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially affecting health and safety”; “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition”; “maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances ... supplied or required to be supplied by him”; and “supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times” (A.R.S. 33-1324). A tenant whose landlord is failing to meet the landlord’s obligations under A.R.S. 33-1324 must provide the landlord with formal written notice of the problem – ideally in a signed and dated letter (keeping a copy for the tenant’s own records) – describing the problem in detail and requesting that the problem be fixed as soon as reasonably possible. The tenant must do this regardless of whether the tenant ultimately wants to continue to live in the dwelling or leave. If you have requested required repairs in writing, and your landlord still refuses to make them, then you may wish to seek legal advice from a legal advocate. There are links to free and low-cost legal services on this website (at http://www.azlawhelp.org/accessToJustice).