questions & answers

Question: I am a tenant and the ownr/landlord is losing the property to foreclosure and he just called me today 09-08-08 and told me I need to beout asap by the end odf the week. The question I have is can he do this the property is due to go back to the bank 09-29-08 I plan on begin out then but can he throw me out sooner?

Answer:

The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act governs the lawful and unlawful behavior of landlords and tenants and can be found under §§ 33-1301- 1381 of the ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES.

Article 4, ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1374, deals with the landlord’s limited recovery of possession of the premises. Article 4, ARIZ. REV. STAT. §§ 33-1361-33-1377, deals specifically with remedies for breaches by landlords and tenants.

 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1367 deals with remedies for tenants based on the landlords’ unlawful exclusion or removal of the tenant from the rental property.

Under ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1374 a landlord may not take possession of the dwelling unit by action or otherwise, including forcible removal of the tenant or his possessions, willful diminution of services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of electric, gas, water or other essential service to the tenant, except in case of abandonment, surrender or as permitted in this chapter. See ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1367 (2008). Under ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1367 a tenant may recover possession of the rental unit or terminate the rental agreement after being excluded from the property. Whatever the tenant decides, under the statute he or she can file suit to recover either for an amount not more than two months' rent or twice the actual damages sustained by him or her, whichever is greater. See ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1367 (2008). If the tenant chooses to terminate the rental agreement, the landlord shall return all security recoverable under §33-1321. Under ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1321(d), after the rental agreement has been terminated, the landlord may take any property or money for the payment of unpaid rent that is owed and damages caused by the tenant. After the rental agreement is terminated and the property is returned to the landlord, a tenant may ask the landlord in writing for return of the remaining refundable deposit and an itemized list of all deductions within fourteen days of the end of the agreement, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal holidays. Unless other arrangements are made in writing by the tenant, the landlord should mail the itemized list and any amount due, by first class mail, to the tenant's last known place of residence. See ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1321(d) (2008). ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 33-1321(g) also states that whoever owns the property at the termination of the rental agreement may be bound by this section. These statutes apply to landlord tenant relationships in mobile home parks. These statutes also do not take into account any contracts, which might have specific clauses dealing with refundable versus non-refundable deposits, breaches of contract and applicable legal remedies.