What is considered normal wear and tear to a rental property in Arizona? During a rental period, a certain amount of wear and tear is to be expected and it is reasonable that the paint on the interior walls will become dingy and that traffic wear will be shown on carpet. However, broken windows, missing window screens, holes in the walls and stained carpet are NOT considered normal wear and tear to an Arizona rental property.
A tenant shall exercise diligence to maintain the premises in as good condition as when he took possession, ordinary wear and tear excepted.
If the landlord fails to comply with subsection D of this section, the tenant may recover the property and money due the tenant together with damages in an amount equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act states that normal wear and tear cannot be deducted from a tenant’s refundable security deposit. Additionally, Arizona courts hold that landlords cannot deduct the cost to paint interior walls and clean carpets.
NOT normal wear and tear to a rental property
Holes in walls, large stains on the carpet, and broken appliances are considered to be in excess of normal wear and therefore a landlord can deduct the cost to repair these items from the tenant’s refundable security deposit.
If you are an Arizona landlord and need help from an Arizona real estate attorney then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.
* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.
Appealing an eviction in Arizona is so expensive, time consuming, and cumbersome that I’ve never seen a tenant successfully overturn an eviction. However, Arizona law provides tenants the opportunity to appeal a forcible detainer (eviction) judgment.
There are two (2) main stages to the appeal process. The first stage of the process begins in the Justice Court; the second stage takes place in the Arizona Superior Court. All of the steps must be followed with exactness the appeal will be dismissed.
STAGE ONE – Notice of Appeal
A Notice of Appeal MUST be filed with the Justice Court within 5 calendar days of the judgment. There is no flexibility with this deadline! If you miss this deadline then you will not be able to proceed with the eviction appeal.
Fee to File the Notice of Appeal:A $75 appeal fee is paid to the Justice Court at the time the Notice of Appeal is filed. This fee includes the cost of a copy of the audio recorded proceedings, a certification of the appeal record, and the transmittal of the record on appeal to the Superior Court.
Cost Bond: On or before the deadline to appeal the cost bond must be paid. Currently the cost bond is $250. The purpose of this bond is to cover court costs incurred by the landlord in defending the appeal.
supersedeas bonds
Two Different Bonds that are Paid by the Tenant
Supersedeas Bond(s): One and Two: The purpose of the first supersedeas bond is to prevent enforcement of the judgment. Meaning the judgment creditor will not be able to try and collect on the judgment. For example, they are prevented from trying to garnish the tenants wages.
Second Supersedeas Bond: Payment of the second supersedeas bond will prevent any eviction proceeding resulting from an eviction action judgment. The second supersedeas bond is for the amount of the judgment that was obtained.
It is not necessary for a tenant to post either of the two types of bonds. But they must post one or the other to prevent enforcement of the eviction judgment.
How much are the supersedeas bonds? The amount of the bond is the total amount of the judgment ordered by the justice court, including court costs, attorney’s fees, damages, etc. The purpose of this bond is to stay collection proceedings on the money judgment awarded. The stay becomes effective when the bond is posted.
The second supersedeas bond is used to stay the eviction proceedings enforced by a Writ of Restitution. The amount of the bond is the amount of rent due from the date of the judgment to the next periodic rental due date, plus court costs and attorney fees ordered in the judgment. To stay the eviction proceedings a supersedeas bond must be posted before the Writ of Restitution is enforced. The stay becomes active once the bond is paid, but cannot be retroactive if the Writ has already been executed.
Rent Payment: In addition to paying all the necessary fees and bonds, the tenant must continue to pay their rent during the appeal process. All rent payments must be paid to the justice court on or before the rental due date, pending the appeal process. If the rent is not timely received, the plaintiff may pursue a Writ of Restitution for execution of the judgment for possession.
The Appeal Memorandum: The Appellant’s memorandum is a written explanation of why the justice court ruling was legally wrong. This is where the tenant can provide a legal explanation for why the justice court’s ruling was wrong. The memorandum should cite specific law and how it was inappropriately applied to the facts of the relevant case. The tenant’s memorandum must be filed within 60 calendar days of the deadline to file the Notice of Appeal.
The landlord then has 30 days to file a response to the tenant’s memorandum. Once both sides have filed their respective memorandum we must wait for further instruction from the Superior Court.
STAGE TWO – The Superior Court
About 60 days after the tenant files the memorandum, he or she will receive notice from the Superior Court instructing that a filing fee must be paid to the Superior Court.
Court’s Ruling: After all of these steps have been completed, the parties will receive a written ruling from the Superior Court. The Superior Court can affirm the trial court, overrule the trial court, modify some of the trial court’s decision, or, if the record is not clear order a new trial in the Superior Court.
If the final outcome of the case is that the original ruling stands, or if the tenant’s appeal is dismissed for any reason, the court may use the bonds, deposit or payments made to satisfy the obligation under the original judgment.
If you need help from an experienced Arizona attorney, then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.
* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.
Our law firm is frequently contacted by
Arizonans looking for help with an “atypical eviction”. There are a few
keys ingredients that make up an atypical eviction. The first ingredient
in an atypical eviction is the actual person we are trying to evict.
Often we are evicting an ex-girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, ex-friend,
roommates, adult children, relatives, etc.
For example,
if a woman moves into her boyfriend’s house, they breakup, boyfriend
asks her to leave, and she won’t leave–then we must move forward with a
formal eviction to get her out of the house.
The
second ingredient that makes these situations
unusual is that the person requesting the eviction is often living with
the
person they are seeking to evict. (This must make for some really
awkward
conversation around the breakfast table). Tensions can become very high
in a home where people are living side by side and one of them is trying
to evict the other. In these atypical evictions it’s not uncommon for
one of the residents to obtain a restraining order against the other
person.
It is important to note that whether it is a “traditional”
Arizona eviction or an atypical eviction as described above, we must always follow the same
formal process. There are no shortcuts! So resist the temptation to just lock this person out
of your house and throw their belongings into the street. Trying to
take any shortcuts with the eviction process can; delay the eviction, cost you
money, and create more stress in your life. Do it right the first time and you
will be able to get this person out of your life.
How Long Will an atypical Eviction Take?
The
time it takes to eviction someone from your house depends on a few
important variables. One of the most important variables is whether or
not there was an agreement for this other person to pay rent. If there
was an agreement for this person to pay rent and they were not paying
rent then we can send them a typical 5-day notice for non-payment of
rent. The entire eviction process for non-payment of rent can take 3 to 4
weeks. So if
you have any illusions about your ex-lover/ex-friend/roommate leaving in
a day or two you need to
re-adjust your thinking.
If there never was agreement
for this person to pay rent and there is not a written lease agreement
in place then you must send them a 30-day notice to vacate. If they do
not leave after the expiration of the 30 days then we can begin the
eviction process thru the courts.
If you would like to speak with an experienced eviction attorney then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-389-6529 or message us HERE.
* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.
A party may appeal a judgment entered in an Arizona Justice Court civil case. FYI, these rules do not apply to eviction cases, but traditional lawsuits filed in the Justice Court. There are two separate stages to appeal a Justice Court ruling. The first stage begins in the Justice Court; the second stage takes place in the Superior Court. The party filing an appeal is the Appellant and the opposing party is the Appellee.
Stage 1 of an Appeal: the Justice Court
The Notice of Appeal
The first step to appeal the judgment a Notice of Appeal must be filed in the Justice Court within 14 calendar days from the date of the judgment. If you do not file this Notice of Appeal within the 14 calendar days then you lose the right to appeal. The time to file this Notice of Appeal cannot be extended so do not miss the deadline! Currently (Jan. 2021) the Notice of Appeal fee is $84.
Appeal Fees
On or before the
deadline to appeal, you must pay an appeal fee. The fee includes the cost of
creating a copy of the audio recording of the proceedings and the transmittal
of this recording to the Superior Court.
The Court Record
The Justice Court record is made by CD or video. The Arizona Justice Court will notify us when a copy of the audio recording is ready to be picked up. The record is usually available within 10 days of filing the Notice of Appeal. If the audio record is more than 90 minutes in length, it will be necessary for the Justice Court to pay a court reporter to prepare a transcript of the proceedings within the deadline to appeal. The transcript must be filed with the Justice Court at the same time we file our memorandum.
Designate the Record
Within the time to
appeal you must designate the record with the trial court by filing a formal
list of the items you want to include in the record on appeal.
The Cost Bond
On or before the deadline to appeal you must pay a cost Bond. Currently, (Jan. 2021) the cost bond is set at $250. The purpose of this bond is to cover Arizona Just Court costs incurred by the Appellee for defending the appeal.
Supersedeas Bond(s)
The purpose of a supersedeas bond is to prevent enforcement of the Judgment by the Plaintiff. The two supersedeas bonds have separate purposes. One will stay collection actions on the amount of the Judgment awarded, i.e., garnishment proceedings.
The amount of the supersedeas bond is the total amount of the Judgment ordered by the court, including court costs, attorneys’ fees, damages, etc. The purpose of this bond is to postpone collection proceedings on the money judgment awarded. For example, levying a bank account or garnishing wages. The stay becomes effective when the bond is paid.
You may still exercise
your right to appeal without posting a supersedeas bond. But you must post one
or both supersedeas bond to prevent enforcement of the Judgment.
The Appeal Memorandum
The Appellant’s memorandum is a written explanation of why the Arizona Justice Court’s ruling was legally wrong. This memorandum should refer to specific portions of the record of the trial to point out where the Justice Court errored. The memorandum should be typed or printed on letter-sized white paper, double-spaced, and not to exceed 15 pages in length. In addition, you may also attach exhibits from your hearing to the memorandum. The original memorandum is filed with the Justice Court and one copy of the memorandum is mailed to every party in the case. Once the memorandum has been filed, the Justice Court must wait for further instructions from the Arizona Superior Court. See Stage 2 of the appeal of judgment.
Stage 2 of an Appeal: the Superior Court
Paying the Superior
Court filing Fee
Once all of the steps from the Justice Court Appeal’s First Stage have been completed the case moves to the Superior Court. About 60 days after the memorandum has been filed you will receive a notice from the Superior Court instructing you to pay the Superior Court filing fee.
Superior Court Action on
the Appeal
Once all of these steps have been completed, a ruling will be issued from the Superior Court. The Arizona Superior Court has the right to affirm the Justice Court, overrule the Justice Court, modify some of the Justice Court’s decision, or, if the record is not clear, order a new trial in the Justice Court. If the final outcome of the case is that the ruling stands, or if the appeal is dismissed for any reason, the court may use any bond, deposit or payments made to satisfy the obligation under the original judgment.
*** ATTENTION- This Post Only Discusses Appealing NON-Eviction Cases ***
Click HERE to Read About Appealing Arizona EVICTION Cases.
If you need help from an Arizona real estate attorney then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.
* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the States of Arizona and New York.
Often, Arizona tenants will leave personal property on the premises after they have been evicted. As a landlord you cannot simply keep or throw away the former tenant’s belongings. The Arizona Landlord-Tenant Act requires the landlord to you maintain their possessions for at least 14 days.
Per A.R.S. § 33-1368(E) a landlord, must hold the evicted tenant’s possessions for a minimum of 14 days from the day the Writ of Restitution was executed (day the constable removed the tenants) issued.
As A landlord, you may
Keep the tenant’s belongings that the rental property for the 14 days,
Move the tenant’s belongings to an off-site storage facility,
Require the tenant to reimburse you for the actual cost of moving and storing their belongings during the 14-day period,
Prohibit the tenants from ever returning to the property without your explicit permission.
As a landlord you may NOT
Arizona landlords cannot require their former tenant pay for eviction judgment prior to releasing the belongings to them. Meaning you cannot require a tenant pay you for all back rent, late fees, attorneys’ fees, and court costs prior to returning their belongings. Again, an Arizona landlord may only demand payment for the actual cost of storing and moving the tenants’ belongings.
Dispose of the tenant’s property prior to the expiration of the 14 days.
catalogue the tenants’ belongings
You should itemize everything left behind by the tenants. If you do choose to remove the tenant’s belongings from the rental property, use considerable care, you will be responsible for any damage to their belongings. It is a good idea to photograph (take 100 – 200 pictures), and/or video the rental property so that you have an inventory of what was left behind. This will also give you the opportunity to catalog any damage to the rental unit itself. Take the inventory prior to moving any of the personal property from the rental unit.
After the 14-day period, if there has been no contact from the evicted party, and they have not claimed, or made and agreement to claim their property, an Arizona landlord may sell the items or dispose of the items that were left behind.
If you need help from an Arizona eviction attorney, then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.
These blog posts are not intended, nor shall they be deemed to be the rendering of legal advice. Reading these blog posts does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor shall it impose an obligation on the part of the attorney to respond to further inquiry. The Dunaway Law Group limits its practice to the State of Arizona.
