QUESTION
Isnt this what a security deposit is for?
Asked on Jan 14th, 2016 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Arizona
More details to this question:
My property manager says that because all the blinds in my house are damaged (even though they were very brittle when i moved in). She says they have to be replaced by next week or I will be evicted, can she do this? I thought my security deposit covered any damages and i thought it didnt come out of the security deposit until i moved out?
1 ANSWER
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If the property manager is threatening eviction for damaged blinds only--especially if they are breaking due to age and reasonable wear and tear-- then that alone is very weak grounds for eviction. However, if your tenancy is about to expire, they are not obligated to renew your lease.
The statutes obligate you to "[n]ot deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so," among other obligations. See A.R.S. 33-1341; also see the terms of your lease. Unless you "deliberately or negligently" broke these blinds or otherwise violated a material term of your lease, the security deposit should cover them--and the landlord (or his agent the property manager) may use the security deposit to fix/replace them now. A.R.S. 33-1321(G). Landlords are obligated to act in good faith, and the property manager's actions do not sound like good faith. A.R.S. 33-1311.
Answered on Jan 21st, 2016 at 5:59 PM