Arizona Laws 33-2148. Retaliatory conduct prohibited; eviction
A. Except as provided in this section, a landlord shall not retaliate by increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for eviction after any of the following:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 33-2148
- Action: includes recoupment, counterclaim, setoff, suit in equity and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including an action for possession. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Landlord: means :
(a) The owner, lessor, sublessor or operator, or any combination of these persons, of a recreational vehicle park. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Organization: includes a corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest and any other legal or commercial entity that is a landlord, owner, manager or designated agent. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Person: includes a company, partnership or firm as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Premises: means the recreational vehicle park and existing facilities and appurtenances in the park, including furniture and utilities, if applicable, and grounds, areas and existing facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Rent: means payments to be made to the landlord or designated agent in full consideration for the rented premises. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
- Tenant: means a person signing a rental agreement or otherwise agreeing with a landlord for the occupancy of a recreational vehicle space for more than one hundred eighty days. See Arizona Laws 33-2102
1. The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation that applies to the premises and that materially affects health and safety.
2. The tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under this chapter.
3. The tenant has organized or become a member of a tenants’ union or similar organization.
4. The tenant has filed an action seeking relief pursuant to section 33-2107 or has filed any other action against the landlord in an appropriate court.
B. If the landlord acts in violation of subsection A of this section, the tenant is entitled to an amount equal to two months’ periodic rent and twice the actual damages sustained by the tenant and has a defense in action against the landlord for eviction, unless the landlord proves good cause for the landlord’s action.
C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this section, a landlord may bring an action for eviction if either of the following occurs:
1. The violation of an applicable building or housing code was caused primarily by lack of reasonable care by the tenant or another person in the tenant’s household or who was on the premises with the tenant’s consent.
2. The tenant is in default in rent. The filing of an action does not release the landlord from liability pursuant to section 33-2141, subsection B.