Phoenix renters: You received a ‘breach of lease’ notice–what now?

Received a scary note from your landlord? Here’s what to know about notice periods for evictions in Phoenix and the rest of the state. 

This story first appeared in Rent Check PHX, a biweekly newsletter made for Phoenix renters, written by someone who’s lived it. Sign up for it here.

Right after my friend and I graduated from college, we moved into a big central Phoenix apartment complex that was taken over by another company during our lease. 

The new company decided that a screen hanging on our balcony—that was there when we moved in—violated a rule about what tenants could have on the outside of their apartments. Instead of contacting us and asking us to remove the screen, the company delivered this request in the scariest way possible: by placing a note on our door that said they’d end our lease in 10 days if we did not comply. 

My roommate and I immediately freaked out seeing something this dire delivered to us on a piece of paper. We hadn’t missed any payments and we hadn’t thrown any crazy parties, so the note caught us completely off guard. After reading it a few times and understanding how minor the problem was, we fixed the issue and never heard from the front office about it again. But it upset us to know that, even for good tenants, landlords could be this quick to threaten eviction. 

RELATED: I’ve moved rentals nearly every 2 years. Turns out in Phoenix, that’s pretty common

This incident sent me down a rabbit hole of learning about how evictions happen in Arizona, and how quickly they can happen. Here’s some information about notice periods for evictions, in case you find yourself living with a trigger-happy landlord, too: 

Arizona law breaks up the reasons for evictions into categories with different notice periods. 

In the case of nonpayment, landlords must give tenants five days notice before filing a case with the court. This is the same for health and safety material breaches of a lease—for example, if a renter’s neglect is creating a fire hazard. 

For a regular material breach—think breaking rules like having an unauthorized pet, having too many people live in the apartment, or, in my case, having things on your balcony that you’re not supposed to—the notice period is 10 days. 

For an irreparable material breach like criminal activity, landlords can file the eviction the same day they give the tenant notice. 

The important thing to know is if you receive a notice for something that is fixable, it does not mean that the eviction process has already begun—this is what my roommate and I were frantically googling after receiving ours. Tenants have the opportunity to pay their debt or solve the issue within the notice period before the landlord files the case. 

It’s a good idea to document everything on your side along the way. Let the landlord know as soon as you’ve fixed the problem, and just to be safe, either hand-deliver a written letter stating the problem was fixed or send one by certified mail. Take photos and videos that show you solved the problem. 

If rent isn’t paid or the breach of lease isn’t fixed in time, the landlord will file an eviction. After that, the court issues a summons to the parties involved with a date for the hearing, which will come between three and six days after the filing date. 

Renters need to be sure that the problem that caused the notice does not happen again. If a landlord issues a notice over the same or a similar material breach of lease for a second time within the rental agreement, they can still file an eviction after the required waiting period, even if the tenant fixes the issue. 

There’s a lot more to know about what happens in eviction hearings, and we’ll cover that in future issues. For now, know that if you get a scary notice like this on your door, it doesn’t mean you’re being kicked out right away. Take a breath, read the notice closely, and see what you need to do to get the landlord off your back. 

If you’d like more in-depth resources on tenants’ rights and evictions, check out AZEvictionHelp, Community Legal Services, or the Phoenix Eviction Legal Services Program.