What can a Tenant Do? My Landlord is not Following the Lease.
- You are a tenant living in a mobile home park. However, your landlord is not following the rental agreement.
- According to the rental agreement and the Arizona Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord Tenant Act, you may have rights if your landlord is violating the lease.
- It is important to continue paying the rent. Your landlord’s violation of the lease agreement does not give you the right to withhold rent.
- Let us look at the top complaints against landlords and the remedies you may have.
- The first complaint is that the landlord is not making needed repairs.
- If you want your landlord to make repairs, you must deliver a written notice to your landlord requesting repairs.
- The time frame you give your landlord to make the repairs depends upon the seriousness of the repairs.
- You have different options depending on the type of problem you have.
- If there is a failure to provide essential services, such as running water, gas, or electrical services required by the lease—
- You must give the landlord reasonable notice in writing.
- You can terminate the lease if the utilities or services are not being provided pursuant to the terms of the lease.
- You cannot pay for these services and deduct them from your rent.
- But you are entitled to two month’s rent or twice the actual damages you incur.
- If, there’s a problem that affects health and safety issues, such as a broken pipe that delivers water to your rental space, you must give the landlord a ten-day written notice to make the repairs.
- Other types of repairs such as pest control in the common areas, or pool equipment malfunctions require a fourteen-day written notice to the landlord.
- If those time frames expire and the landlord does not make repairs you have options.
- You can hire a licensed contractor for minor defects and deduct this from your rent with certain documentation.
- In each of these situations, you can choose to end the rental agreement and move out if the landlord does not fix the problem within those specific time frames.
- Seek legal counsel so that you understand what your rights are and what remedies are available.
- Your landlord is not allowed to lock you out without a court order.
- The landlord may not retaliate if you complained to your landlord o r to a government agency about the health and safety of the premises in the last six months.
- If this happens, you may be entitled to damages.
- If you are unable to resolve the issues with your landlord, you may file a lawsuit, or you can raise them as a defense if you are being evicted.
- Another common complaint is failure to return the security deposit.
- For more detailed information about this complaint, see the Legal Info Video entitled “How do I get my security deposit back?”
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