Even with the best tenant screening, you may eventually end up with a problem tenant. When this happens, you are legally bound to uphold certain tenant rights. A top Phoenix property management company knows how to follow the rules when dealing with difficult tenants, so it is important to ask the experts for help when you have an issue. Otherwise, you may end up facing significant financial and legal penalties.
How Do You Properly Access a Tenant's Rental Property?
To legally gain access, you need to start by determining what the access is for. The tenant must be given notice 48 hours before you access the unit. It is important to keep in mind that even entering the yard counts as accessing the unit, so you must notify the tenant in advance. If you are responding to a tenant's request to repair a leaky toilet, the tenant's request counts as giving you access. You can immediately bring out a plumber to repair the toilet.
If you are sending the notification by mail, you must send the notice seven days before you plan on accessing the unit. Otherwise, the tenant will not receive the notification in time. Additionally, the notification must be in written form, like a certified letter or email. Visiting the property too frequently violates the tenant's legal right to quiet enjoyment of the property.
What Financial and Legal Penalties Do Landlords Face When Something Goes Wrong?
At Service Star Realty, it is our job to keep property owners informed about tenant and landlord rights. If a property owner does not provide proper notice, they will be charged a penalty of a month's worth of rent per violation. In one case, a property owner rented a unit for $1,000 a month and showed up without notice seven times. This landlord had to pay $7,000 for violating the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment.
When the tenant's rights are violated, Arizona requires landlords to pay the following penalties.
Improper access: Landlords must pay the cost of monthly rent per occurrence.
Turning off utilities: You must pay double the amount of monthly rent.
Security deposit returned after due date: Landlords are required to pay double the amount of the original security deposit as well as the original security deposit. You normally have just 14 business days to return the security deposit to the tenant.
Failure to maintain the unit: If the landlord does not maintain the unit, the tenant must serve a 5-day or 10-day notice. Then, the tenant can get half the month's rent if they repair the problem on their own. They can also choose to move out. If they move out, they can get the entire security deposit back.
If a tenant violates the terms of the lease, property owners can collect penalties as well.
Unpaid rent: If the tenant defaults on their rent, the landlord must send them a five-day notice. After that, they can begin the eviction process.
Tenant hold over: When tenants do not move out when they are supposed to, landlords can evict them and get a judgment for two times the monthly amount of rent.
Failure to maintain: If property owners inspect the property and discover something is not right, they can serve a 10-day or 5-day notice to evict the tenant. Tenants only have to give you notice five days in advance for health and safety issues. For other problems, landlords must serve a 10-day notice as well as a second notice.
Failure to allow access: When tenants do not allow access, property owners can send a 10-day notice to fix the violation. If they still do not allow access, they can be evicted.
It is extremely important to include certain restrictions in the lease. According to the lease, landlords should be able to access the unit as long as they provide notice 48 hours in advance. If this requirement is not in the lease, landlords cannot evict tenants for failing to allow access. By including the access requirement, you can evict someone for not following the terms of the lease.
What Should Property Owners Expect at the End of a Lease?
While every lease is different, there are a few common requirements. Tenants must give a 30-day notice before they leave their unit. Your specific lease may have other requirements about providing a notice to vacate.
At the end of any lease, the lease automatically becomes a month-to-month (MTM) lease by default. Property owners cannot assume that a tenant will vacate right away. If you do not want to renew the lease, you must provide proper notice.
Knowing facts, deadlines, responsibilities and consequences as they pertain to landlord and tenant obligations is what we specialize in. Do not miss Part Two of this topic, and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns about what you or your tenant may be facing. We are here to help!
Stay tuned for part two!
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Other blogs you may find interesting:
What to Include in a Proper Lease Agreement
What Can Phoenix Landlords Do When Tenants Break HOA Rules?
Service Star Realty
2929 East Camelback Road #119, Phoenix, AZ 85016
(480) 426-9696
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