Can I get out of a lease due to my daughters health issues?
Full Question:
We are renting a house and need to get out of the contract due to medical problems. We had mold in our main bathroom that they came and replaced some of the tiles. They said as long as we keep throwing bleach on it it would be fine. My daughter has sever asthma that she has been hospitalized for weeks at a time. Upon her allergy testing they said that mold was one of the highest things she was allergic to. Is this a valid reason to get out of our lease being that my daughter can not even live in the same house as us due to this problem?
06/05/2007 |
Category: Landlord Ten... ยป Lease Termin... |
State: Arizona |
#6192
Answer:
You should carefully read your lease agreement to determine your rights and obligations for terminating the lease and your landlord's rights and obligations for maintaining the property in good condition.
The relevant Arizona statutes are as follows:
33-1311. Obligation of good faith
Every duty under this chapter and every act which must be performed as a
condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter
imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.
33-1314. Terms and conditions of rental agreement
A. The landlord and tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and
conditions not prohibited by this chapter or any other rule of law
including rent, term of the agreement and other provisions governing the
rights and obligations of the parties.
B. In the absence of a rental agreement, the tenant shall pay as rent the
fair rental value for the use and occupancy of the dwelling unit.
C. Rent shall be payable without demand or notice at the time and place
agreed upon by the parties. Unless otherwise agreed, rent is payable at the
dwelling unit and periodic rent is payable at the beginning of any term of
one month or less and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the
beginning of each month. Unless otherwise agreed, rent shall be uniformly
apportionable from day-to-day.
D. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy shall
be week-to-week in case of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other
cases month-to-month.
E. If a municipality that levies a transaction privilege tax on
residential rent changes the percentage of that tax, the landlord on thirty
day written notice to the tenant may adjust the amount of rent due to equal
the difference caused by new percentage amount of tax. The adjustment to
rent shall not occur before the date upon which the new tax is effective.
In order for a landlord to adjust rent pursuant to this subsection, the
landlord's right to adjust rent pursuant to this subsection shall be
disclosed in the rental agreement.
33-1324. Landlord to maintain fit premises
A. The landlord shall:
1. Comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially
affecting health and safety.
2. Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the
premises in a fit and habitable condition.
3. Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition.
4. Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical,
plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other
facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be
supplied by him.
5. Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the
removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other waste incidental to the
occupancy of the dwelling unit and arrange for their removal.
6. Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times,
reasonable heat and reasonable air-conditioning or cooling where such units
are installed and offered, when required by seasonal weather conditions,
except where the building that includes the dwelling unit is not required
by law to be equipped for that purpose or the dwelling unit is so
constructed that heat, air-conditioning, cooling or hot water is generated
by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant and supplied
by a direct public utility connection.
B. If the duty imposed by subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section is
greater than any duty imposed by any other paragraph of this section, the
landlord's duty shall be determined by reference to that paragraph.
C. The landlord and tenant of a single family residence may agree in
writing, supported by adequate consideration, that the tenant perform the
landlord's duties specified in subsection A, paragraphs 5 and 6 of this
section, and also specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations and
remodeling, but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith, not
for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and the work is
not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2
of this section.
D. The landlord and tenant of any dwelling unit other than a single
family residence may agree that the tenant is to perform specified repairs,
maintenance tasks, alterations or remodeling only if:
1. The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for
the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and is set forth in
a separate writing signed by the parties and supported by adequate
consideration.
2. The work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection A,
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section.
3. The agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the
landlord to other tenants in the premises.
33-1361. Noncompliance by the landlord
A. Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material
noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement, including a
material falsification of the written information provided to the
tenant, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord
specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the
rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than ten days after
receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in ten days. If there
is a noncompliance by the landlord with section 33-1324 materially
affecting health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to
the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach
and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than
five days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in
five days. For the purposes of this section, material falsification
includes false information relating to availability of the unit,
except when a holdover tenant is in illegal possession or in violation of
the rental agreement, the condition of the premises and any current
services as represented by the landlord in writing as well as any written representation, as well as and any representation regarding future
services and any future changes regarding the condition of the premises,
the provision of utility services and the designation of the party
responsible for the payment of utility services. The rental agreement
shall terminate and the dwelling unit shall be vacated as provided in the
notice subject to the following:
1. If the breach is remediable by repairs or the payment of damages or
otherwise and the landlord adequately remedies the breach prior to the date
specified in the notice, the rental agreement will not terminate.
2. The tenant may not terminate for a condition caused by the
deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the
tenant's family or other person on the premises with the tenant's
consent.
B. Except as provided in this chapter, the tenant may recover damages
and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance by the landlord with
the rental agreement or with section 33-1318 or 33-1324.
C. The remedy provided in subsection B of this section is in addition
to any right of the tenant arising under subsection A of this section.
D. If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord shall return all
security recoverable by the tenant under section 33-1321.
33-1363. Self-help for minor defects
A. If the landlord fails to comply with section 33-1324, and the
reasonable cost of compliance is less than three hundred dollars, or an
amount equal to one-half of the monthly rent, whichever amount is greater,
the tenant may recover damages for the breach under section 33-1361,
subsection B, or may notify the landlord of the tenant's intention to
correct the condition at the landlord's expense. After being notified by
the tenant in writing, if the landlord fails to comply within ten days or
as promptly thereafter as conditions require in case of emergency, the
tenant may cause the work to be done by a licensed contractor and, after
submitting to the landlord an itemized statement and a waiver of lien,
deduct from his rent the actual and reasonable cost of the work, not
exceeding the amount specified in this subsection.
B. A tenant may not repair at the landlord's expense if the condition was
caused by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a
member of the tenant's family or other person on the premises with the
tenant's consent.
33-1365. Landlord's noncompliance as defense to action for possession or
rent; definition
A. In an action for possession based upon nonpayment of the rent or in
an action for rent where the tenant is in possession, if the landlord is
not in compliance with the rental agreement or this chapter, the tenant may
counterclaim for any amount which he may recover under the rental agreement
or this chapter. In that event after notice and hearing the court from time
to time may order the tenant to pay into court all or part of the
undisputed rent accrued and all periodic rent thereafter accruing and shall
determine the amount due to each party. The party to whom a net amount is
owed shall be paid first from the money paid into court and the balance, if
any, by the other party. However, if no rent remains due after application
of this section, or if the tenant is adjudged to have acted in good faith
and satisfies a judgment for rent entered for the landlord, judgment shall
be entered for the tenant in the action for possession.
B. In an action for rent where the tenant is not in possession, the
tenant may counterclaim as provided in subsection A but the tenant is not
required to pay any rent into court.
33-1369. Failure to maintain
If there is noncompliance by the tenant with section 33-1341 materially
affecting health and safety that can be remedied by repair, replacement of
a damaged item or cleaning and the tenant fails to comply as promptly as
conditions require in case of emergency or within fourteen days after
written notice by the landlord specifying the breach and requesting that
the tenant remedy it within that period of time, the landlord may enter the
dwelling unit and cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and
submit an itemized bill for the actual and reasonable cost or the fair and
reasonable value thereof as rent on the next date when periodic rent is
due, or if the rental agreement has terminated, for immediate payment.
