CRIMEFREERENTALPROPERTYARTICLE
024
How to manage a
crime free rental
property In Arizona
AUTHOR: John D. Lierman
EMAIL: [email protected] BIO: jshfirm.com/johndlierman
A landlord who discovers that his tenant is engaging in criminal
activity often cannot evict the tenant for that reason alone, even
if the criminal activity is taking place on the landlord’s property.
Of course, the landlord can call the police, always the first place
to turn when crime is suspected. A prison sentence is more
effective than an eviction for getting someone off your property.
But many crimes will not be punished with incarceration.
Moreover, criminal convictions take time and demand proof
beyond reasonable doubt, a standard that may seem a little
demanding if all you are trying to do is keep your own property
crime-free.
If it seems strange that a landlord could know that crimes are
being committed on his own property and still be powerless to
do anything about it, remember that in entering into a lease,
the landlord, or lessor, gives the tenant, or lessee, something
called the “right of possession.” For residential leases, that right
is conferred by statute. Section 33-1323 of the Arizona Revised
Statutes, part of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant
Act, states that at the commencement of the lease, “the landlord
shall deliver possession of the premises to the tenant.” Right
of possession means that once the lease is signed, for most
intents and purposes, the leased real estate belongs to the
tenant.
The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act includes additional
expressions of the tenant’s right of possession. For example,
A.R.S. § 33-1343, entitled, “Access,” provides that: “A tenant shall
not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter
“Some landlords think that once they have
a valid reason to avoid a lease, they are
allowed to go onto the property and clear
the tenant out themselves. But even apart
from the risk of violence, self-help can get
you into a lot of trouble.”