questions & answers

Question: If the house is unhabitable due to rodent activity and poison all over the house, upon move in, can we get refunded and pull out of the agreement. Because we got an inspection the day we got the keys and it's infested. They also told us as we were signing the lease that there are no mice and no termites. Which we found out through a pest company, the house had both.

Answer: If there's a material misrepresentation regarding the condition of the property that you can prove (ideally in writing), you should be able to terminate the lease. Alternatively, the landlord is required under A.R.S. 33-1324 to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition. If they fail to do that, you have remedies under A.R.S. 33-1361. Under A.R.S. 33-1361, you may provide the landlord written notice of the breach in writing that the lease will terminate within 10 days after the receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied. That notice period is only 5 days in the event of a breach "materially affecting health and safety". I believe you may be able to make that argument here depending on how bad the infestation is. Here is a link to the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act containing the statutes I referenced and other helpful statutes. Please do be sure to comply with the specific notice requirements in each statute: https://housing.az.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/Landlord-Tenant-Act-ADOH-Publication-July-2018_0.pdf