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FAQ - Evictions

Arizona Civil Legal Needs Community Survey

Civil legal organizations in Arizona are seeking your input to increase their ability to meet the civil legal needs of Arizona's lower income residents. Please complete this survey to assist in improving civil legal services in Arizona.

Encuesta de Necesidades Legales Civiles de Arizona

Las organizaciones legales civiles en Arizona buscan su opinión para aumentar su capacidad de satisfacer las necesidades legales civiles de los residentes de bajos ingresos de Arizona. Por favor complete esta encuesta para ayudar a mejorar los servicios legales civiles en Arizona.

Do I have the legal right to hire someone to fix the air conditioner after I provide the landlord a written notice and they fail to fix it within the proper timeframe?  If not, what are my options?

According to Arizona law, the tenant may do one of the following:

  1. Purchase a reasonable amount of fans, window units, portable air conditioning units, etc. and deduct that amount from their rent.
  2. Deduct the diminished value of the premises.
  3. Find reasonable substitute housing and deduct the daily rent for the days the home is not habitable. If the cost of that housing is more than the daily rent, the tenant may also deduct an additional 25% of that daily rent from their rent after providing the landlord proof of payment for that housing.
  4. Terminate the lease and move without penalty.

EXAMPLE 1: A tenant may buy a portable air conditioning fixture for $300 and deduct that amount from their rent after providing a receipt to the landlord.

EXAMPLE 2: If the tenant chooses to stay at a hotel and their monthly rent is $1800, they can deduct up to $75 of the daily hotel bill (daily rent of $60 plus an additional $15, which is 25% of the daily rent) after providing the landlord with a copy of that bill. That might not be much to pay for a hotel, but the statute does not allow the tenant to take off the entire amount of the hotel bill unless the landlord’s failure to act is willful.

Resources

Air Conditioning Legal Info Sheet

A.R.S. § 33-1364(A)

 

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