An Arizona residential lease agreement (“rental agreement”) (“rental agreement”) is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. State and local laws set the rules for rental agreements, such as laws regulating the use of a tenant’s security deposit.
Arizona Residential Lease Agreement Disclosures
These disclosures are required for some or all residential lease agreements in Arizona:
| Disclosure | Applicability |
|---|---|
| Landlord’s Name/Address | All Units |
| Move-In Checklist | All Units |
| Residential Landlord/Tenant Act | All Units |
| Shared Utilities Arrangements | All Units With Shared Utility Meters |
| Bed Bugs | Non-Single Family Residence |
| Rent Adjustment | All Units That Will Adjust Rent |
| Non-Refundable Fees | All Units that Charge Non-Refundable Fees |
| Pool Enclosure | All Units With a Pool |
| Lead-Based Paint | All Units Built Prior To 1978 |
Landlord’s Name and Address
Applicable to all Arizona rentals.
Arizona leases must contain the name and address of the landlord (or authorized agent). This allows required communication (for example, about repairs) to happen in a smooth way.
Contact information is most often written in the lease agreement, for maximum convenience. The landlord must notify the tenant whenever there’s a change in contact information.
Move-In Checklist
Applicable to all Arizona rentals.
Arizona landlords must provide a move-in checklist to inventory existing property damage and allow accurate deductions from the security deposit upon move-out. A tenant has the right to this inventory (alongside a signed copy of the lease) within five days of move-in.
Download: Arizona Move-In Checklist Disclosure Form (PDF)
Residential/Landlord Tenant Act
Applicable to all Arizona rentals.
Arizona landlords must, at or before move-in, inform the tenant that the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is available to review on the Department of Health website.
Shared Utilities Arrangements
Applicable to Arizona rentals which share a utility meter.
Arizona leases must provide a special disclosure where multiple rental units share a utility meter for the whole building or property. In these cases, the landlord may charge separately for utilities through a submetering system or ratio billing system. The landlord must disclose how the charges are billed to individual tenants.
For ratio billing, the cost breakdown should include the specific method used to allocate and calculate costs to the tenant.
Ratio billing uses strategies like charging by:
- Number of tenants
- Unit square footage
- Number of outlets or water fixtures
- Even split between tenants
- Any other method outlined in the lease
For submetered systems, a cost breakdown should include:
- Beginning and ending meter readings for the term
- Dates of beginning and ending readings
- Breakdown of charges for each utility
- Administrative fee(s) charged (if applicable)
This an example of a shared utility agreement section:
UTILITIES: This rental unit shares the following utilities with another unit or common area:
[ ] Electricity
[ ] Water
[ ] Gas
[ ] Sewage
[ ] Other: ______________________________This lease uses the following method for calculating utility charges between Tenant(s):
[ ] Home Square Footage
[ ] Number of Tenants
[ ] Even Split Between Tenants
[ ] Other:___________________________Tenant agrees to pay the monthly utility charge to Landlord, plus a $__ service charge as part of each month’s rental payment.
Download: Arizona Shared Utility Arrangement Disclosure Form (PDF)
Bed Bug Disclosure
Applies to all Arizona rentals other than single-family residences.
Arizona landlords must disclose any known bedbug infestation on rental property. They also must provide educational materials (usually in an addendum) and include a bed bug section in lease agreements. A bed bug addendum addresses the following:
- Measures that may prevent or control bed bugs
- Information on bed bugs, including their appearance
- Risk factors for attracting bed bugs (such as the risk of purchasing used or leased furniture and clothing)
- Protocol for preventing and reporting infestations
- Information provided by state and local agencies, plus the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Information provided by federal, state, local or non-profit housing agencies
- Information provided by the landlord about conditions in the rental property or locality
This is an example of a bed bug disclosure section and addendum:
BED BUGS. At the time of presenting this agreement, Landlord certifies:
[ ] There is no known current infestation or history of bed bugs in this property.
[ ] No known current infestation, but there is a history of infestation in this property.
[ ] There is no known current infestation, but there is a nearby infestation or history of infestations which may place the property at risk.
Download: Arizona Bed Bug Disclosure Form (PDF)
Non-Refundable Fees
Applicable to Arizona rentals where the landlord charges any nonrefundable fee.
Charges not agreed by the tenant in the lease may be refundable upon lease termination. For Arizona landlords to charge a non-refundable fee, it must be disclosed and agreed as such in the lease.
Pool Enclosure Disclosure
Applicable to Arizona rentals with pool access.
Arizona leases with a pool (or any other body of water intended for swimming that is 18 inches or more in depth and at least eight feet wide) must provide tenants with an educational safety notice approved by the Department of Health Services. The notice must discuss pool use and maintenance, including details about pool enclosure requirements.
Download: Arizona Pool Enclosure Disclosure Form (PDF)
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
Applicable to Arizona rentals built before 1978.
Arizona residential leases for property built before 1978 must, by federal law, contain a lead-based paint disclosure. This requires landlords to do the following:
- Fill out and attach this lead-based paint disclosure form to the lease agreement
- Provide the tenant with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved pamphlet about the dangers of lead-based paint
- Provide any additional records or reports about the presence or hazards of lead-based paint in the unit (including building-wide evaluations, for multi-unit buildings with common areas)
Download: Arizona Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form (PDF)
Optional Disclosures and Addenda (Recommended)
The following lease agreement disclosures and addenda are not required by Arizona law in residential lease agreements, but help with tenant management and landlord liability.
| Optional Disclosure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | Informs tenants about any asbestos hazards related to the property. Tenants can reduce asbestos risk by not disturbing asbestos fibers. |
| Late/Returned Check Fees | Specifies late fees or returned check fees related to the lease. In Arizona late fees must be “reasonable,” and returned check fees are capped at $25. |
| Medical Marijuana Use | Informs tenants about actual or suspected mold contamination on the property efforts, plus information about treatments. This helps limit landlord liability. |
| Mold Disclosure | Informs tenants about actual or suspected mold contamination on the property, along with any remediation efforts, to help limit landlord liability. |
| Smoking | Informs tenants of designated smoking areas that do not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of other tenants. |
Consequences of Not Including Mandatory Disclosures
Mandatory disclosures outline important health, safety, and property information for the benefit of both landlord and tenant. A landlord who fails to provide federally or state-mandated disclosures could face legal consequences or monetary penalties, either from a tenant lawsuit or from state officials. Many lease provisions may be unenforceable without legally required disclosures.
It is a petty offense in Arizona when a landlord violates the pool disclosure requirement for a lease.
Failure to comply with the federal lead-based paint hazard disclosure risks fines of tens of thousands of dollars per violation.
Sources
- 1 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1322(A)
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The landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his behalf shall disclose to the tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy the name and address of each of the following:
1. The person authorized to manage the premises.
2. An owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner for the purpose of service of process and for the purpose of receiving and receipting for notices and demands.
Source Link - 2 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1321(C)
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On move in, a landlord shall furnish the tenant with a signed copy of the lease, a move-in form for specifying any existing damages to the dwelling unit and written notification to the tenant that the tenant may be present at the move-out inspection. On request by the tenant, the landlord shall notify the tenant when the landlord’s move-out inspection will occur. If the tenant is being evicted for a material and irreparable breach and the landlord has reasonable cause to fear violence or intimidation on the part of the tenant, the landlord has no obligation to conduct a joint move-out inspection with the tenant.
Source Link - 3 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1321(D)
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On termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as prepaid rent and security may be applied to the payment of all rent, and subject to a landlord’s duty to mitigate, all charges as specified in the signed lease agreement, or as provided in this chapter, including the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant’s noncompliance with section 33-1341. Within fourteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal holidays, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant the landlord shall provide the tenant an itemized list of all deductions together with the amount due and payable to the tenant, if any. Unless other arrangements are made in writing by the tenant, the landlord shall mail the itemized list and any amount due, by first class mail, to the tenant’s last known place of residence. If the tenant does not dispute the deductions or the amount due and payable to the tenant within sixty days after the itemized list and amount due are mailed as prescribed by this subsection, the amount due to the tenant as set forth in the itemized list with any amount due is deemed valid and final and any further claims of the tenant are waived.
Source Link - 4 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1322(B)
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At or before the commencement of the tenancy, the landlord shall inform the tenant in writing that the Arizona residential landlord and tenant act is available on the Arizona department of housing’s website.
Source Link - 5 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1314.01(A)
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A landlord may charge separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity by installing a submetering system or by allocating the charges separately through a ratio utility billing system.
Source Link - 6 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1314.01(E) & (F)
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E. If a landlord uses an allocation or submetering system, the bill format for each billing period shall:
1. Separately state the cost of the charges for the period together with the opening and the closing meter readings and the dates of the meter readings.
2. Show the amount of any administrative fee charged.
F. If a landlord does not use a submetering system and allocates charges separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity, the landlord may allocate the costs to each tenant by using one or more of the following ratio utility billing system methods:
1. Per tenant.
2. Proportionately by livable square footage.
3. Per type of unit.
4. Per number of water fixtures.
5. For water and wastewater, by use of an individually submetered hot water usage measure for the tenant’s dwelling unit.
6. Any other method that fairly allocates the charges and that is described in the tenant’s rental agreement.
Source Link - 7 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1319(A)
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A landlord has the following obligations with respect to a bedbug infestation:
1. The landlord shall provide bedbug educational materials to existing and new tenants. Educational materials may include:
(a) A description of measures that may be taken to prevent and control bedbugs.
(b) Information about bedbugs, including a description of their appearance.
(c) A description of behaviors that are risk factors for attracting bedbugs such as purchasing renovated mattresses, using discarded mattresses and furniture, using used or leased furniture, purchasing pre-owned clothing and traveling without proper precautions.
(d) Information provided by the United States centers for disease control and prevention and other federal, state or local health agencies.
(e) Information provided by federal, state or local housing agencies.
(f) Information provided by nonprofit housing organizations.
(g) Information developed by the landlord.
2. The landlord shall not enter into any lease agreement with a tenant for a dwelling unit that the landlord knows to have a current bedbug infestation.
Source Link - 8 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1321(b)
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The purpose of all nonrefundable fees or deposits shall be stated in writing by the landlord. Any fee or deposit not designated as nonrefundable is refundable.
Source Link - 9 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-1681(E)
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A person on entering into an agreement to build a swimming pool or contained body of water or sell, rent or lease a dwelling with a swimming pool or contained body of water shall give the buyer, lessee or renter a notice explaining safety education and responsibilities of pool ownership as approved by the department of health services.
Source Link - 10 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-6852
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Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided in section 32-507, the holder, payee or assignee of the holder or payee of a dishonored check, draft, order or note may charge and collect from the maker or drawer a service fee of not more than $25 plus any actual charges assessed by the financial institution of the holder, payee or assignee of the holder or payee as a result of the dishonored instrument.
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