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HB2866 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
landlord; tenant; jury trials; procedures
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2866
Introduced by
Representatives
Hernandez L: Tsosie
AN
ACT
amending sections 12-1176, 12-1178,
33-1368 and 33-1377, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the 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 12-1176, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
12-1176.
Demand for jury; trial procedure
A. If a jury trial is requested by the plaintiff,
the court shall grant the request.� If the proceeding is in the superior court,
the jury shall consist of eight persons, and if the proceeding is in the
justice court, the jury shall consist of six persons. The trial date
shall be
no more than five
at least fifteen
judicial days after the
aggrieved party files the
complaint
defendant is served with the summons and
complaint
.
B. If the plaintiff does not request a jury, the
defendant may do so on appearing and the request shall be granted.
C. The action shall be docketed and tried as other
civil actions.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 12-1178, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
12-1178.
Judgment; writ of restitution; limitation on issuance; criminal
violation; notice
A. If the defendant is found guilty of forcible
entry and detainer or forcible detainer, the court shall give judgment for the
plaintiff for restitution of the premises, for all charges stated in the rental
agreement and for damages, attorney fees, court and other costs and, at the
plaintiff's option, all rent found to be due and unpaid through the periodic
rental period, as described in section 33-1314, subsection C, as provided
for in the rental agreement, and shall grant a writ of
restitution. The person designated by the judge to prepare the
judgment shall ensure that the defendant's social security number is not
contained on the judgment.
B. If the defendant is found not guilty of forcible
entry and detainer or forcible detainer, judgment shall be given for the
defendant against the plaintiff for damages, attorney fees and court and other
costs, and if it appears that the plaintiff has acquired possession of the
premises since commencement of the action, a writ of restitution shall issue in
favor of the defendant.
C.
No
a
writ of restitution
shall
may not
issue until the expiration of
five
fifteen
calendar days after the rendition of judgment. The writ of
restitution
shall
may be issued but may not
be enforced
as promptly and expeditiously as possible
until at least twenty-four hours after the plaintiff provides
notice to the defendant that the defendant will be served with the writ of
restitution
. The issuance or enforcement of a writ of
restitution shall not be suspended, delayed or otherwise affected by the filing
of a motion to set aside or vacate the judgment or similar motion unless a
judge finds good cause.
D. A defendant who is lawfully served with a writ of
restitution and who remains in or returns to the dwelling unit, as defined in
section 33-1310, or remains on or returns to the mobile home space, as
defined in section 33-1409, or the recreational vehicle space, as defined
in section 33-2102, without the express permission of the owner of the
property or the person with lawful control of the property commits criminal
trespass in the third degree pursuant to section 13-1502.
E. If the defendant is found guilty of forcible
entry and detainer or forcible detainer, the court shall give the defendant
notice that a defendant who is lawfully served with a writ of restitution and
who remains in or returns to the dwelling unit or remains on or returns to the
mobile home space or the recreational vehicle space without the express
permission of the owner of the property or the person with lawful control of
the property commits criminal trespass in the third degree pursuant to section
13-1502.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 33-1368, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
33-1368.
Noncompliance with rental agreement by tenant; failure to pay
rent; utility discontinuation; liability for guests; definition
A. Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a
material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement, including
material falsification of the information provided on the rental application,
the landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and
omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate
on a date not less than ten days after receipt of the notice if the breach is
not remedied in ten days. For the purposes of this section, material
falsification includes the following untrue or misleading information about
the:
1. Number of occupants in the dwelling unit, pets,
income of the prospective tenant, social security number and current employment
listed on the application or lease agreement.
2. Tenant's criminal records, prior eviction record
and current criminal activity. Material falsification of information
in this paragraph is not curable under this section.
If there is a noncompliance by the
tenant with section 33-1341 materially affecting health and safety, the
landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and
omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate
on a date not less than
five
fifteen
days
after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in
five
fifteen
days.
However,
If the breach
is remediable by repair or the payment of damages or otherwise, and the tenant
adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the
rental agreement will not terminate.� If there is an additional act of these
types of noncompliance of the same or a similar nature during the term of the
lease after the previous remedy of noncompliance, the landlord may institute a
special detainer action pursuant to section 33-1377 ten days after
delivery of a written notice advising the tenant that a second noncompliance of
the same or a similar nature has occurred. If there is a breach that
is both material and irreparable and that occurs on the premises, which may
include an illegal discharge of a weapon, homicide as prescribed in sections 13-1102,
13-1103, 13-1104 and 13-1105, prostitution as defined in
section 13-3211, criminal street gang activity as prescribed in section
13-105, activity as prohibited in section 13-2308, the unlawful
manufacturing, selling, transferring, possessing, using or storing of a
controlled substance as defined in section 13-3451, threatening or
intimidating as prohibited in section 13-1202, assault as prohibited in
section 13-1203, acts that have been found to constitute a nuisance
pursuant to section 12-991 or a breach of the lease agreement that
otherwise jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the landlord, the
landlord's agent or another tenant or involving imminent or actual serious
property damage, the landlord may deliver a written notice for immediate
termination of the rental agreement and shall proceed under section 33-1377.�
The foregoing list of actions which may constitute a material and irreparable
breach of a tenant's lease is not exhaustive.
B. A tenant may not withhold rent for any reason not
authorized by this chapter. If rent is unpaid when due
,
and
the landlord shall
provide the tenant with a preliminary four-day notice of nonpayment that
includes a list of rental assistance resources. If the tenant does not pay the
rent in full by the fourth day after the tenant RECEIVES the preliminary
notice, the landlord shall deliver a ten-day notice to the tenant that
states that if
the tenant fails to pay rent within
five
fifteen
days after written notice by the landlord of
nonpayment
,
and
it is
the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement
if the rent is not paid within that period of time,
and
the landlord may terminate the rental agreement by filing a
special detainer action pursuant to section 33-1377. Before the filing of
a special detainer action the rental agreement shall be reinstated if the
tenant tenders all past due and unpaid periodic rent and a reasonable late fee
set forth in a written rental agreement. After a special detainer
action is filed the rental agreement is reinstated only if the tenant pays all
past due rent, reasonable late fees set forth in a written rental agreement,
attorney fees and court costs. After a judgment has been entered in
a special detainer action in favor of the landlord, any reinstatement of the
rental agreement is solely in the discretion of the landlord.
C. The landlord may recover all reasonable damages
resulting from noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or section
33-1341 or occupancy of the dwelling unit, court costs, reasonable
attorney fees and all quantifiable damage caused by the tenant to the premises.
D. The landlord may discontinue utility services
provided by the landlord on the day following the day that a writ of
restitution or execution is executed pursuant to section 12-1181. Disconnections
shall be performed only by a person authorized by the utility whose service is
being discontinued. This section does not supersede standard tariff
and operational procedures that apply to any public service corporation,
municipal corporation or special districts providing utility services in this
state.
E. On the day following the day that a writ of
restitution or execution is executed pursuant to section 12-1181, the
landlord shall comply with section 33-1370, subsections D, E, F, G, H and
I regarding the tenant's personal property.
F. For the purposes of this chapter, the tenant
shall be held responsible for the actions of the tenant's guests that violate
the lease agreement or rules or regulations of the landlord if the tenant could
reasonably be expected to be aware that such actions might occur and did not
attempt to prevent those actions to the best of the tenant's ability.
G. For the purposes of this section,
"days" means calendar days.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Section 33-1377, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
33-1377.
Special detainer actions; service; trial postponement
A. Special detainer actions shall be instituted for
remedies prescribed in section 33-1368. Except as provided in
this section, the procedure and appeal rights prescribed in title 12, chapter
8, article 4 apply to special detainer actions.
B. The summons shall be issued on the day the
complaint is filed and shall command the person against whom the complaint is
made to appear and answer the complaint at the time and place named
,
which shall be not more than
six
twenty
nor less than
three
ten
days from the date
of
that the
tenant is served with
the summons. The tenant is deemed to
have received the summons three days after the summons is mailed if personal
service is attempted and within one day of issuance of the summons a copy of
the summons is conspicuously posted on the main entrance of the tenant's
residence and on the same day the summons is sent by certified mail, return
receipt requested, to the tenant's last known address. The summons
in a special detainer action shall be served at least
two
eleven
days before the return day and the return day made on
the day assigned for trial
to allow the tenant at least ten days
to file an answer to the complaint
. Service of process in
this manner shall be deemed the equivalent of having served the tenant in
person for the purposes of awarding a money judgment for all rent, damages,
costs and attorney fees due.
C. For good cause shown supported by an affidavit,
the trial may be postponed for not more than three days in a justice court or
five days in the superior court.
The trial shall be postponed if
the trial date is to be held before the expiration of the ten-day period
for the tenant to file an answer to the complaint.
D. In addition to determining the right to actual
possession, the court may assess damages, attorney fees and costs as prescribed
by law.
E. If a complaint is filed alleging a material and
irreparable breach pursuant to section 33-1368, subsection A, the summons
shall be issued as provided in subsection B of this section, except that the
trial date and return date shall be set no later than the third day following
the filing of the complaint. If after the hearing the court finds by
a
preponderance of the evidence that the material and
irreparable breach did occur, the court shall order restitution in favor of the
plaintiff not less than twelve nor more than twenty-four hours later.
F. If the defendant is found guilty, the court shall
give judgment for the plaintiff for restitution of the premises, for late
charges stated in the rental agreement, for costs and, at the plaintiff's
option, for all rent found to be due and unpaid through the periodic rental
period provided for in the rental agreement as described in section 33-1314,
subsection C and shall grant a writ of restitution.
G. If the defendant is found not guilty, judgment
shall be given for the defendant against the plaintiff for costs, and if it
appears that the plaintiff has acquired possession of the premises since
commencement of the action, a writ of restitution shall issue in favor of the
defendant.
END_STATUTE