When The Landlord Will Not Fix It
A.R.S. 33-1324 — fit and habitable, with written notice remedies of five or ten days
Under the fit premises section, an Arizona landlord:
- Complies with building codes materially affecting health and safety.
- Makes all repairs and does whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises fit and habitable.
- Keeps common areas clean and safe.
- Keeps electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning facilities and supplied appliances in good and safe working order.
- Provides receptacles for garbage and other waste, and arranges for its removal.
- Supplies running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat and air-conditioning or cooling where installed and offered, when the season requires.
| The landlord's failure | The tenant's remedy |
|---|---|
| The landlord's failureNoncompliance with the fit premises duties materially affecting health and safety | The tenant's remedyWritten notice that the agreement ends at least five days after receipt unless remedied in five days |
| The landlord's failureOther material noncompliance with the rental agreement | The tenant's remedyWritten notice that the agreement ends at least ten days after receipt unless remedied in ten days |
| The landlord's failureAny noncompliance with the rental agreement or the fit premises duties | The tenant's remedyDamages and an injunction, in addition to the notice |
A minor defect: repair and deduct. Where the reasonable cost of compliance is less than $300 or one-half of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, the tenant may notify the landlord in writing of the intent to correct the condition at the landlord's expense. If the landlord does not comply within ten days, or as promptly as an emergency requires, the tenant may have a licensed contractor do the work and, after giving the landlord an itemized statement and a waiver of lien, deduct the actual and reasonable cost from the rent, up to that limit.
When the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply running water, gas or electricity, reasonable hot water, heat, air-conditioning or cooling where installed, or essential services, the tenant may give reasonable notice and then do one of three things: procure them and deduct the actual reasonable cost from the rent, recover damages for the reduced rental value, or procure reasonable substitute housing and owe no rent for the period.
Up to twenty-five per cent more for substitute housing. Where substitute housing costs more than the rent, the tenant may recover the excess, on proof of payment, up to twenty-five per cent of the periodic rent excused. If the landlord's failure was deliberate, the tenant may also recover the reasonable cost of the substitute housing up to an amount equal to the periodic rent.
None of these remedies reaches a condition the tenant, a family member or a guest caused deliberately or negligently. A tenant who proceeds under the essential services section may not use the termination or repair and deduct remedies for the same breach, except as to damages before. A tenant may not withhold rent for any reason the chapter does not authorize.
Sources for this section (5)
- A.R.S. 33-1324 — Landlord to maintain fit premises
- A.R.S. 33-1361 — Noncompliance by the landlord
- A.R.S. 33-1363 — Self-help for minor defects
- A.R.S. 33-1364 — Wrongful failure to supply heat, air conditioning, cooling, water, hot water or essential services
- A.R.S. 33-1368 — Noncompliance with rental agreement by tenant; failure to pay rent
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Arizona attorney.