What can a Tenant Do? My Landlord is not Following the Lease.

1. You are a tenant living in a mobile home park. However, your landlord is not following the rental agreement.
2. According to the rental agreement and the Arizona Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord Tenant Act, you may have rights if your landlord is violating the lease.
3. It is important to continue paying the rent. Your landlord’s violation of the lease agreement does not give you the right to withhold rent.
4. Let us look at the top complaints against landlords and the remedies you may have.
5. The first complaint is that the landlord is not making needed repairs.
6. If you want your landlord to make repairs, you must deliver a written notice to your landlord requesting repairs.
7. The time frame you give your landlord to make the repairs depends upon the seriousness of the repairs.
8. You have different options depending on the type of problem you have.
9. If there is a failure to provide essential services, such as running water, gas, or electrical services required by the lease—
10. You must give the landlord reasonable notice in writing.
11. You can terminate the lease if the utilities or services are not being provided pursuant to the terms of the lease.
12. You cannot pay for these services and deduct them from your rent.
13. But you are entitled to two month’s rent or twice the actual damages you incur.
14. If, there’s a problem that affects health and safety issues, such as a broken pipe that delivers water to your rental space, you must give the landlord a ten-day written notice to make the repairs.
15. Other types of repairs such as pest control in the common areas, or pool equipment malfunctions require a fourteen-day written notice to the landlord.
16. If those time frames expire and the landlord does not make repairs you have options.
17. You can hire a licensed contractor for minor defects and deduct this from your rent with certain documentation.
18. In each of these situations, you can choose to end the rental agreement and move out if the landlord does not fix the problem within those specific time frames.
19. Seek legal counsel so that you understand what your rights are and what remedies are available.
20. Your landlord is not allowed to lock you out without a court order.
21. The landlord may not retaliate if you complained to your landlord o r to a government agency about the health and safety of the premises in the last six months.
22. If this happens, you may be entitled to damages.
23. If you are unable to resolve the issues with your landlord, you may file a lawsuit, or you can raise them as a defense if you are being evicted.
24. Another common complaint is failure to return the security deposit.
25. For more detailed information about this complaint, see the Legal Info Video entitled “How do I get my security deposit back?”

Resources:

Eviction Legal Info Sheets

Eviction Videos