Tenant Management

The landlord must return the security deposit to the tenant within thirty (30) days after the tenant moves out, if the tenant has not caused damage to the premises. The landlord must return the full security deposit, plus interest. If the tenant has damaged the premises, the landlord must return only the amount of the security deposit that is left, if any, after the landlord uses it to fix the damage and must provide an itemized list of what was charged for the damages.

The tenant must give the landlord written notice of his or her new address so that the landlord knows where to send the money. A landlord who does not respond within thirty days may be liable for double (2 times) the amount of the security deposit.

The tenant may also wish to do the following to make sure the security deposit is returned:

• read the lease and follow all of its provisions, especially those that deal with notice to the land- lord of the move.
• inspect the apartment with the landlord using a checklist. Compare it to the checklist completed before the tenant moved into the apartment.
• take photographs of the apartment and have a person other than the landlord or tenant inspect the apartment.
• clean the apartment.
• repair all damage to the apartment caused by the tenant, the tenant’s family members or the tenant’s guests.
• keep a file with copies of all letters to and from the landlord—the lease agreement, rent checks and/or receipts, written notices to or from the landlord, inspection checklists, and any other important items.
• make all rental payments on time.

Source: www.jud.ct.gov

Landlords and tenants in Arizona – When beginning tenancy, it is crucial to have a written record of landlord-tenant relationship. Landlords and tenants should use written rental agreements to begin tenancy.

A. The landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his behalf shall disclose to the tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy the name and address of each of the following:
1. The person authorized to manage the premises.
2. An owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner for the purpose of service of process and for the purpose of receiving and receipting for notices and demands.

B. At or before the commencement of the tenancy, the landlord shall inform the tenant in writing that the Arizona residential landlord and tenant act is available on the Arizona secretary of state’s website.

C. The information required to be furnished by this section shall be kept current and refurnished to a tenant upon the tenant’s request. This section extends to and is enforceable against any successor landlord, owner or manager.

D. A person who fails to comply with subsections A, B and C becomes an agent of each person who is a landlord for the following purposes: 1. Service of process and receiving and receipting for notices and demands. 2. Performing the obligations of the landlord under this chapter and under the rental agreement and expending or making available for the purpose all rent collected from the premises.

E. If there is a written rental agreement, the landlord must tender and deliver a signed copy of the rental agreement to the tenant and the tenant must sign and deliver to the landlord one fully executed copy of such rental agreement within a reasonable time after the agreement is executed. A written rental agreement shall have all blank spaces completed. Noncompliance with this subsection shall be deemed a material noncompliance by the landlord or the tenant, as the case may be, of the rental agreement.

Source: www.azsos.gov/public_services/…landlord_tenant_act/residential.pdf

Landlords and tenants in Arizona – When a tenant signs the lease agreement, he or she must understand the responsibilities of being a tenant. Below are listed the rules every tenant must follow.

The tenant shall:

1. Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building codes materially affecting health and safety.

2. Keep that part of the premises that he occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit.

3. Dispose from his dwelling unit all ashes, rubbish, garbage and other waste in a clean and safe manner.

4. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits.

5. Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances including elevators in the premises.

6. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so.

7. Conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises.

8. The tenant shall notify the landlord of any situation or occurrence that requires the landlord to provide maintenance, make repairs or otherwise requires the landlord to take action.

Source: www.azsos.gov/public_services/…landlord_tenant_act/residential.pdf

Landlords and tenants in Arizona – Can a landlord implement a new rule during tenancy? Here are the guidelines for landlords to adopt new rules.

A. A landlord, from time to time, may adopt rules or regulations, however described, concerning the tenant’s use and occupancy of the premises. Such rules or regulations are enforceable against the tenant only if:
1. Their purpose is to promote the convenience, safety or welfare of the tenants in the premises, preserve the landlord’s property from abusive use or make a fair distribution of services and facilities held out for the tenants generally.
2. They are reasonably related to the purpose for which adopted.
3. They apply to all tenants in the premises in a fair manner.
4. They are sufficiently explicit in prohibition, direction or limitation of the tenant’s conduct to fairly inform the tenant of what the tenant must or must not do to comply.
5. They are not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord. 6. The tenant has notice of them at the time the tenant enters into the rental agreement.

B. A rule or regulation adopted after the tenant enters into the rental agreement is enforceable against the tenant if a thirty day notice of its adoption is given to the tenant and it does not constitute a substantial modification of the tenant’s rental agreement.

C. If state, county, municipal or other governmental bodies adopt new ordinances, rules or other legal provisions affecting existing rental agreements, the landlord may make immediate amendments to lease agreements to bring them into compliance with the law.

The landlord shall give a tenant written notice that the tenant’s lease agreement has been amended, and the notice shall provide a brief description of the amendment and the effective date.

Source: www.azsos.gov/public_services/…landlord_tenant_act/residential.pdf

Landlords and tenants in Arizona – You are planning for tenancy and you would like to know how are utilities charged in tenancy in Arizona. Here is guide for both landlords and tenants regarding utility charges.

A. A landlord may charge separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity by installing a submetering system or by allocating the charges separately through a ratio utility billing system.

B. If a landlord charges separately for a utility pursuant to subsection A, the landlord may recover the charges imposed on the landlord by the utility provider plus an administrative fee for the landlord for actual administrative costs only. The landlord shall not impose any additional charges. The rental agreement shall contain a disclosure that lists the utility services that are charged separately and shall specify the amount of any administrative fee that is associated with submetering or the use of a ratio utility billing system.

C. If provided in the rental agreement, the landlord may impose a submetering system or ratio utility billing system during the term of a rental agreement if the landlord provides notice as prescribed by subsection G.

D. If a landlord is not in compliance with subsection B, the tenant shall first object in writing to the landlord regarding the utility billing. If the dispute is not resolved, the tenant may file a civil complaint in justice court to enforce this section.

E. If a landlord uses an allocation or submetering system, the bill format for each billing period shall:

1. Separately state the cost of the charges for the period together with the opening and the closing meter readings and the dates of the meter readings.
2. Show the amount of any administrative fee charged. F. If a landlord does not use a submetering system and allocates charges separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity, the landlord may allocate the costs to each tenant by using one or more of the following ratio utility billing system methods:
1. Per tenant.
2. Proportionately by livable square footage.
3. Per type of unit.
4. Per number of water fixtures.
5. For water and wastewater, by use of an individually submetered hot water usage measure for the tenant’s dwelling unit.
6. Any other method that fairly allocates the charges and that is described in the tenant’s rental agreement.

G. If a landlord uses a ratio utility billing system method pursuant to subsection F, the rental agreement shall contain a specific description of the ratio utility billing method used to allocate utility costs. For any existing tenancies, the landlord shall provide at least ninety days’ notice to the tenant before the landlord begins using a submetering system or allocating costs through a ratio utility billing system. H. For purposes of regulating apartment communities as public or consecutive water systems, the department of environmental quality shall not adopt rules pursuant to title 49, chapter 2, article 9 that are more stringent than those authorized by federal law. Without other evidence of activities that are subject to regulation under title 49, chapter 2, article 9, the department of environmental quality shall not use an apartment community’s use of a submetering system or a ratio utility billing system as the sole basis for regulating an apartment community as a public or consecutive water system.

Source: www.azsos.gov/public_services/…landlord_tenant_act/residential.pdf