LANDLORD-TENANT DISPUTES ARTICLES
Service Animal Protected Even if Growls at Children
Question: We own a small eight-unit apartment complex in north Phoenix. The lease prohibits any pets more than 25 pounds. One of the tenants in this eight-unit apartment complex has a German shepherd. The tenant says that for health reasons he needs this German shepherd. He has a letter from a doctor stating that this German shepherd is a service (or “assistive”) animal to assist in the treatment of the tenant’s anxiety. The other tenants are complaining about this German shepherd who has growled at small children, but has never been aggressive. One tenant is even threatening to move out.…
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Does Transfer of Air Force Lieutenant Automatically Terminate Lease?
Question: We recently purchased an apartment building near Luke Air Force Base. One of our tenants is an Air Force lieutenant who is being transferred to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He still has four months remaining on the lease, but says that after he moves he will no longer have any obligation to pay the remaining four months of the lease. Do we lose the rent for the remaining four months on the lease because the tenant is being transferred to another Air Force base? Answer: Yes. Under the Service Members Civil Relief Act, a service member is…
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‘Mail Delivery Rule’ Presumes Landlord Received Notice
Question: We leased a small office building in Show Low for five years, with an option to renew for five years. This option to renew for five years required at least 60 days’ notice to the landlord prior to the end of the lease. The landlord lives in Phoenix, so we mailed to the landlord our notice to renew the lease for five years. This mailing, both by first class and certified mail, was almost 90 days prior to the expiration of the lease. The certified mail came back a few days later marked “unclaimed,” but the first class mail…
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Difference Between Liquidated Damages, Breach of Contract Penalty
Question: Our daughter attends ASU, and we personally guaranteed a one-year lease for her Tempe condominium. The lease expiration date is May 31. Our daughter, however, moved out of the Tempe condominium one month early at the end of April to live with us until she goes to Europe for three months. My daughter’s friend is going to ASU summer school, and she immediately signed a new lease for the same rent and moved into the Tempe condominium on May 1. My daughter’s lease provides for damages in the amount of a 60-day rent payment for early termination of the…
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Lease Option to Purchase Must Have Specific Terms
Question: We are leasing a small building in a Chandler industrial park for five years. After five years we want to have the option to purchase this small building in “as is” condition. Our broker says that this option to purchase only needs to be in a lease addendum that states that there will be an appraisal for the amount of the purchase price, and that we will purchase the industrial building in “as is” condition. We don’t want to spend a lot of time and legal fees now because whether we exercise this option to purchase will depend on…
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Can Landlord and Tenant Create a Maintenance Deal?
Question: We are negotiating a one-year lease for a North Phoenix home. The landlord wants us to be responsible for maintaining the heating and air-conditioning systems in the home. The landlord is willing to reduce the rent by $200 per month. Can we agree with the landlord to be responsible for maintaining the home in exchange for this $200 reduction in the rent? Answer: Probably. A landlord is required to maintain the premises in a fit and habitable condition. This requirement includes having to keep all heating and air-conditioning systems in working order. The landlord and tenant in the rental…
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Tenants Have Protection in Foreclosures
Question: We have been renting a home in Chandler for several years. We just signed another one-year lease. Two nights ago a process server came by and posted a notice of foreclosure in our front yard. Our landlord lives in Chicago and has not returned our phone calls. If our home is sold in foreclosure, when will we have to move? Answer: In general, a federal law protecting tenants in their homes during any foreclosure by the landlord’s mortgage lender has been in effect since 2009, and has been recently renewed with no expiration date. If you are a bona fide…
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Occupation not a Protected Class Under Fair Housing
Question: My wife and I recently moved to the Phoenix area from New York. We are both lawyers, and we have credit scores in the 800s. We wanted to rent a nice home in Paradise Valley for a year, until we decided where we want to live permanently. We signed a lease for this home and our real estate agent presented the lease to the landlord for his signature. The landlord was pleased with the terms of the lease, but when he did a credit check and learned that we were lawyers, he refused to sign the lease. We can’t believe…
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