ARIZONA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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HB 2358: landlord tenant; partial payment; assistance |
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PRIME SPONSOR: Representative Toma, LD 22 BILL STATUS: Senate Engrossed |
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Overview
Specifies a housing assistance payment does not constitute rent or a partial
payment of rent.
History
Title 33, Chapter 10 (Arizona Landlord Tenant Act) governs the rental of dwelling units and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The purposes of the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act are to simplify, clarify, modernize and revise rental laws and to encourage landlords and tenants to maintain and improve the quality of housing (A.R.S. § 33-1302).
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 33-1314, rental agreements may include the rent, term of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties. If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days of a written notice by the landlord, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement by filing a special detainer action (A.R.S. § 33-1368).
Under current law, a landlord is not required to accept partial payment of rent or other charges. A landlord that accepts partial payment may sue a tenant for unpaid rent only if the tenant agrees in a contemporaneous written agreement to the terms and conditions of the partial payment. The landlord may sue a tenant in breach of this agreement or any other breach of the original rental agreement (A.R.S. § 33-1371).
The Arizona Department of Housing is the designated state public housing agency (PHA). The PHA accepts federal housing assistance monies and may participate in the housing assistance payments program, such as the Housing Choice Voucher Program ("Section 8") from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (A.R.S. § 41-3953). The PHA enters into a contract with the landlord to provide housing assistance payments on behalf of the tenant.
A landlord is the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part. Rent is payments to be made to the landlord in full consideration for the rented premises (A.R.S. § 33-1310).
Provisions
1. Stipulates that a landlord's acceptance of a housing assistance payment does not constitute:
a. an acceptance of a partial payment of rent; or
b. a waiver of a landlord's right to terminate the rental agreement for any breach by the tenant. (Sec. 2)
2. Defines housing assistance payment. (Sec. 1)
3. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1, 2)
Senate Amendments
1. Clarifies housing assistance payments apply to payments made by specified entities pursuant to a written rental assistance or subsidy contract, rather than a written agreement.
2. Specifies that a housing assistance payment does not include any payments made by a faith-based organization, a community action agency program or a nonprofit entity that does not have a separate written rental assistance or subsidy contract.
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Fifty-fourth Legislature HB 2358
First Regular Session Version 4: Senate Engrossed
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