REFERENCE TITLE: landlord; tenant; fee disclosure; waiver

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

2021

 

 

 

HB 2573

 

Introduced by

Representatives Powers Hannley: Andrade, Epstein, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Salman, Stahl Hamilton, Terán, Senators Engel, Mendez

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending section 33-1322, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 33, chapter 10, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 33‑1322.01; amending section 33-1371, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the Arizona residential landlord and tenant act.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 33-1322, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1322.  Disclosure and tender of written rental agreement; fees

A.  The landlord or any person authorized to enter into a rental agreement on his the landlord's behalf shall disclose to the tenant in writing at or before the commencement of the tenancy the name and address of each of the following:

1.  The person authorized to manage the premises.

2.  An owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner for the purpose of service of process and for the purpose of receiving and receipting for notices and demands.

B.  At or before the commencement of the tenancy, the landlord shall inform the tenant in writing that the Arizona residential landlord and tenant act is available on the Arizona department of housing's website.

C.  The information required to be furnished by this section shall be kept current and refurnished to a tenant upon on the tenant's request.  This section extends to and is enforceable against any successor landlord, owner or manager.

D.  A person who fails to comply with subsections A, B and C of this section becomes an agent of each person who is a landlord for the following purposes:

1.  Service of process and receiving and receipting for notices and demands.

2.  Performing the obligations of the landlord under this chapter and under the rental agreement and expending or making available for the purpose all rent collected from the premises.

E.  At or before the commencement of the tenancy, The landlord shall disclose to the tenant:

1.  Any additional fees or costs that may be chargeable to the tenant and that are not included in the periodic rental rate, INCLUDING charges for trash valet or for upgrades to the rental premises necessary to use smart devices, service fees for submission of payments online and any other additional fees or costs, including taxes.  The landlord shall include the same DISCLOSURES in any advertisement or other PROMOTIONAL material that states the periodic rental rate and shall include those disclosures in any web-based promotional materials, including the website for the rental premises.

2.  Whether the landlord or any of its vendors collect or sell the tenant's personal data as a result of using facilities or services on the rental premises.

E.  F.  If there is a written rental agreement, the landlord must tender and deliver a signed copy of the rental agreement to the tenant and the tenant must sign and deliver to the landlord one fully executed copy of such rental agreement within a reasonable time after the agreement is executed.  A written rental agreement shall have all blank spaces completed.  Noncompliance with this subsection shall be deemed a material noncompliance by the landlord or the tenant, as the case may be, of the rental agreement.END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.  Title 33, chapter 10, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 33-1322.01, to read:

START_STATUTE33-1322.01.  Rental agreement provisions; additional services; payment

A.  A LANDLORD or any person authorized to enter into a rental AGREEMENT on the LANDLORD'S behalf shall:

1.  Allow a tenant to choose not to receive and pay for any nonessential services, including valet services related to trash or RECYCLING, smart home fees or fees for similar devices or services.

2.  Allow a tenant to pay rent and any other amounts due with any legal tender, including cash in United States dollars, personal checks, cashier's checks, debit or credit card, bank or other financial institution websites or any online payment center or system that is provided by the landlord.

3.  ASSESS ANY PROPERLY CHARGED ADDITIONAL FEES OR COSTS ONLY ON THE same date that THE RENTAL PAYMENT IS DUE.

B.  A LANDLORD or any person authorized to enter into a rental AGREEMENT on the LANDLORD'S behalf may not Charge additional fees for accepting an online payment through the landlord's website or other system that is provided by the landlord. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.  Section 33-1371, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE33-1371.  Acceptance of partial payments; waiver of right to terminate; exception

A.  A landlord is not required to accept a partial payment of rent or other charges.  A landlord accepting a partial payment of rent or other charges retains the right to proceed against a tenant only if the tenant agrees in a contemporaneous writing to the terms and conditions of the partial payment with regard to continuation of the tenancy.  The written agreement shall contain a date on which the balance of the rent is due. The landlord may proceed as provided in this article and in title 12, chapter 8 against a tenant in breach of this agreement or any other breach of the original rental agreement.  If the landlord has provided the tenant with a notice of failure to pay rent as specified in section 33‑1368, subsection B before the completion of the agreement for partial payment, no additional notice under section 33‑1368, subsection B is required in case of a breach of the partial payment agreement.

B.  For the purposes of this section, a landlord's acceptance of a housing assistance payment does not constitute constitutes an acceptance of a partial payment of rent or and a waiver of a landlord's right to terminate the rental agreement for any breach by the tenant failure to pay rent.

C.  Except as specified in subsections subsection A and B of this section, acceptance of rent, or any portion of rent, with knowledge of a default by the tenant or acceptance of performance by the tenant that varied from the terms of the rental agreement or rules or regulations subsequently adopted by the landlord constitutes a waiver of the right to terminate the rental agreement for that breach. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4.  Short title

This act shall be known as the "Truth in Renting Act".