Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Arizona

I bought a lender owned property and cleaned it up and it is a beautiful home. I had tenants move in and they ended up moving out within 2 months of their lease because the house had scorpionsn and they had been stung and had to go the hopsital. They never notified me or gave me a opportunity to rectify the problem, they just move out and broke the lease. They tenants sent me a certified letter stating there were scorpions and they were stung and scared and that this was their two week notice, but they already moved out! I knew nothing about any scorpions until after they moved out and I received the certified letter. Their lawyer is fighting that the house was unsafe and unhabital as the tenant were stung and the house had scorpions. The lawyer also is fighting for the refundable security deposit as well. Would the house be consider unhabitable because of scorpions and could they get be intitled to get their deposit back?


Asked on 4/25/12, 11:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joyce Johnson-Stovall Johnson Stovall and Associates PLLC

In order to provide a complete answer, it would be necessary to review the written lease agreement; however, as a general proposition insect infestation is not a reason to breach the lease agreement.

Arizona landlord tenant law for residential tenancies provides specific remedies that a tenant can take when the property has an issue that makes it uninhabitable, it sounds like that has not occurred in this instance. Under Arizona law, they are required to provide statutory notice before undertaking any acts where they pay to remedy the problem before they can deduct that cost from the rent. Because Arizona is known for scorpions and snakes, pest control service might have been a better option for the tenant. If the lease agreement placed the responsibility for pest control on the tenant, which would enable you to pursue the tenant for the amount of rent remaining on the lease term.

I would enjoy meeting with you to review the lease agreement and discuss an appropriate strategy to deal with the case. Based upon your questions, I am not sure whether you filed a forcible detainer action which is being defended by the tenants lawyer.

Please feel free to contact Stephanie Coulter at 602 462 1004 if you are interested in meeting with me to discuss this further.

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Answered on 4/25/12, 5:30 pm


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