Yes! In Arizona, we have what is entitled The Arizona Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. This is an entirely separate piece of legislation in addition to all of the Arizona Real Estate Statutes. The purpose of this Act is “to simplify, clarify, modernize, and revise the law governing the rental of dwelling units and the rights and obligations of landlord and tenant.” The secondary purpose and goal are “to encourage landlord and tenant to maintain and improve the quality of housing” in this state.
These are significant aspirations! Notice that there are, in both of the above purposes of the law, two parties mentioned: the Landlord and the Tenant. This law is about 44 pages of rules and regulations directed at both of these parties. It is important to see and remember this law addresses the rights of both parties and the obligations of both parties. Its’ secondary goal is to encourage both parties to maintain and improve the quality of housing.
I often hear Tenants refer to their rights, but I rarely hear Tenants referring to their obligations. Same for Landlords most of the talk and discussion is about their rights, and rarely, about their obligations. My goal in creating this blog, and accompanying videos, is to point out and teach us all the ways that we are in this together. The Landlord is not the enemy. The Tenant is not the enemy. The Arizona Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (AZRLTA) contains the “rules” of this game we are playing, called renting. Let’s learn how to play fairly, shall we?
I hope that Tenants and Landlords alike will find posted information helpful, and will be able to utilize this site as a resource. Just as there are two sides to a coin, there are usually two sides to a story, and two sides to property renting. Let’s learn how to make this work together!
