Full question:
I live in a house in Arizona where our signed lease agreement went out last April. We have been paying rent since then without signing a new lease. My wife was involved in a car accident on May 15, taken to an emergency room, missed 2 days of work, and so on. We had to pay a $1000 deductible to get our car out of the shop as well as some car rental fee's. So because of this we have not paid rent for June. On Friday, July 3, we were served court papers to appear in court. One month late and they are sending us to court. They are demanding both months rent all fees and late fees by this date. We also only had 2 business day from time we were served papers to time of court. We were told we will only have 5 to 7 days to get out of house if we cant pay the total in full. Is there nothing I can do?
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Termination
- Date:
- State: Arizona
Answer:
To avoid eviction, paying the overdue rent is essential. In Arizona, inability to pay rent is not a valid defense against eviction. Possible defenses include:
- Acceptance of partial payment by the landlord.
- Landlord's failure to make necessary repairs.
- Retaliatory eviction for exercising legal rights, such as reporting code violations.
- Improper service of eviction notice.
According to Arizona law (A.R.S. § 33-361), if rent is unpaid for five days, the landlord can initiate eviction proceedings. The court will schedule a hearing within five to thirty days. If the landlord wins, you may need to pay all past due rent, late fees, and court costs to avoid eviction.
It's crucial to act quickly. Consider seeking legal assistance to explore your options and potentially negotiate with your landlord.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.