Can I terminate the lease early, as a landlord in Arizona?

[AZLandlord]

I am a landlord in AZ and I have a tenant that has been consistently difficult, disrespectful, keeps the house filthy, and has caused what I consider to be substantial damage - a hole kicked in a door, curtain rod pulled out of the wall, a broken piece on the outside of a fairly new wall oven, broken part of the security doors, broken glass on the porch light, and I'm sure there's more I've yet to see. They also had bug problems where I had to have an exterminator go out, and come to find there was trash all over the kitchen counters and old pans with dried grease sitting on the stove. They have 3 months left on the lease, but after a recent argument over fixing the oven I just want them out as soon as possible, so I can get in fix what needs to be done, and sell it. This tenant has made me hate being a landlord. But I don't think she's done enough for me to legally evict her, as rent is mostly paid on time, and I'm not sure what I've mentioned constitutes a material breach to where I can terminate the lease with a 30 day notice. And unfortunately, I did not write in any kind of escape clause in the lease. Does anyone see a way that I could possibly terminate this lease (legally of course)? Thank you, in advance, for any advice you can offer.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

What does your lease cover in terms of a tenant causing damages to your property?

Gail

 

[Silverplum]

I am a landlord in AZ and I have a tenant that has been consistently difficult, disrespectful, keeps the house filthy, and has caused what I consider to be substantial damage - a hole kicked in a door, curtain rod pulled out of the wall, a broken piece on the outside of a fairly new wall oven, broken part of the security doors, broken glass on the porch light, and I'm sure there's more I've yet to see. They also had bug problems where I had to have an exterminator go out, and come to find there was trash all over the kitchen counters and old pans with dried grease sitting on the stove. They have 3 months left on the lease, but after a recent argument over fixing the oven I just want them out as soon as possible, so I can get in fix what needs to be done, and sell it. This tenant has made me hate being a landlord. But I don't think she's done enough for me to legally evict her, as rent is mostly paid on time, and I'm not sure what I've mentioned constitutes a material breach to where I can terminate the lease with a 30 day notice. And unfortunately, I did not write in any kind of escape clause in the lease. Does anyone see a way that I could possibly terminate this lease (legally of course)? Thank you, in advance, for any advice you can offer.

Start reading here: http://www.law.arizona.edu/library/research/guides/landlord_tenant.cfm

 

[AZLandlord]

What does your lease cover in terms of a tenant causing damages to your property?

Gail

On cleanliness it states "tenant must keep the leased premises clean and sanitary at all times and remove all rubbish, garbage, and other waste in a clean, tidy, and sanitary manner." And in multiple locations it addresses damages being the responsibility of the tenant and that i can ask they pay upfront or have damage costs taken from the security deposit. I have pictures of the garbage on the counters and dirty pans, as well as some of the damage from my last walk through. However, my lease doesn't specifically state that I can terminate for these reasons. The only part that addresses eviction is non rental payment. And it lists what would happen in a scenario of abandonment by the tenant.

I'd rather not have to go through the eviction process, as it is only 3 months left on the lease. Ideally, I just want to provide a letter that says they have be out by March 1 and legally be able to do that. But I fear the lease isn't specific enough on these terms to allow it. Then again, I have heard that AZ is really more landlord friendly, than say CA which is more tenant friendly, so I was hoping I'd be allowed to term the lease based on being unsatisfied with the condition of my property and the tenants argumentative behavior. And her 17 year old son, threatened my husband with physical harm one day when he was there fixing a light that the kid broke. So there's that too, but we have no proof the threat occurred.

 

[FarmerJ]

Id say to go get pictures of the tenant created conditions and if you have to then have your husband bring a couple buddies with the day he goes and takes pictures ( with notice say for planing of further repairs ) Your lease does not have to say if the tenant is a total pig they can be evicted . This tenant is wasting the unit so a letter I guess would be in order laying out that they are wasting/ damaging the unit and they are going to pay for the repairs you have done so far, inc a invoice and if they refuse to pay deduct it from deposit while you make a few other repairs anyway. If the tenant damages any recent repairs get new pics , you might not get them out very fast or even before the lease is up. BUT maybe you will be lucky and the tenant will screw up and not pay feb rent. BTW have every thing ready incase they do not pay feb rent so you can begin the process to get them out.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

'On cleanliness it states "tenant must keep the leased premises clean and sanitary at all times and remove all rubbish, garbage, and other waste in a clean, tidy, and sanitary manner." And in multiple locations it addresses damages being the responsibility of the tenant and that i can ask they pay upfront or have damage costs taken from the security deposit. I have pictures of the garbage on the counters and dirty pans, as well as some of the damage from my last walk through. However, my lease doesn't specifically state that I can terminate for these reasons. The only part that addresses eviction is non rental payment. And it lists what would happen in a scenario of abandonment by the tenant.

I'd rather not have to go through the eviction process, as it is only 3 months left on the lease. Ideally, I just want to provide a letter that says they have be out by March 1 and legally be able to do that. But I fear the lease isn't specific enough on these terms to allow it. Then again, I have heard that AZ is really more landlord friendly, than say CA which is more tenant friendly, so I was hoping I'd be allowed to term the lease based on being unsatisfied with the condition of my property and the tenants argumentative behavior. "

None of the issues you stated raise the damages done to your rental unit to the point where they are dangerous enough to warrant terminating the lease without the tenant agreeing to such.

We'd all like to have tenants who would care for the properties we own as we would care for our own homes. Unfortunately, that often just does not happen. Sometimes people who don't actually own things don't care one whit about them.

You could mention that you wish to place your rental unit on the market to sell and suggest that you both agree to terminate the lease early so you can get it in shape to sell and the tenant does not have to be bothered with folks trooping through the place looking at it while it's on the market.

Gail

 

[AZLandlord]

Thank you both for your responses, I really appreciate it. Gail, I had figured it probably wasn't enough to terminate the lease, but I was hopeful. It's been a long road with this tenant and the most recent issue we've had over this broken piece on the wall oven has just been the last straw and left me looking for a way out. It'll be 2 years at the end of this lease and you wouldn't believe the lies and stories that this woman tells, she's a pathological liar. Just an example, according to her has had numerous types of cancer and multiple surgeries. One of which was shoulder surgery, yet she had no scars (i've seen her in a tank top/sleeveless shirt many times since) or limitations in her mobility immediately following the supposed surgery. I realize that's all irrelevant to the business arrangement I have with her, but I feel conned because she pulled on my heart strings to get me to rent to her to begin with and come to find out it was all BS. But that's another story.

FarmerJ, that's a good idea to get in and start making all the repairs now to get a jump start, and we considered it. But so far I've only asked to get the oven fixed because I started totaling up what I know needs to be done and thought, if I need to replace carpet too (it was brand new when she moved in), then I'm surely in the red after using her security deposit. Just the ordeal with the oven thus far has been the biggest back and forth battle and I got every excuse under the sun on why it's not her fault. Apparently, this metal piece on the oven door mysteriously just snapped in half and fell off when she opened the door. The oven is 4 years old, it's not like it's ancient and pieces are just falling off. And it was only used by my husband and me when we lived there, so I know it was well cared for, previously. Anyway, if we went in trying to make repairs, she'd surely be following us around with excuses and lame reasons why it's not her fault. Much easier to do the repairs once she's gone and send an itemized statement that she can take me to court for if she really wishes to contest it. And I will be at the ready with my 5 day pay or quit notice. Her rent is due the 1st, but she always pays on the 3rd, because I don't charge a late fee until the 4th. I learned that I can serve the notice on the 2nd, I don't have to wait until the 4th. So I will probably do this on her last month, as I'm thinking she may try to stiff me the last month, knowing that she's unlikely to get much of her deposit back anyway.

And Silverplum, I did respond to you the other day, but for some reason it didn't post. Thank you for the link. I had actually already seen it and did a lot of research before coming to this forum. My hopes in posting here were personal experiences or something more specific to my issue. But it's helped just getting peoples opinions and letting me think it through. Looks like I'm just stuck until May. But I do appreciate all the input from everyone.

Clearly, I am new to this. Fortunately, I did a lot of research beforehand and my lease is actually pretty great, very specific, and covers me very well. If I could do it all over again the only thing I would change is adding a clause that I could terminate the lease at my discretion with sufficient notice. Live and learn. And I have learned that "landlording" is not for me. haha I'm an accountant and knew that by holding onto this property for at least 2 years would allow me to write off a loss when selling it, not to mention getting to take depreciation and other tax benefits. But the market has improved over the last 2 years and we may actually stand to make a profit on the sale now. So hopefully I'll be out of this game soon. I'm 6 months pregnant and don't need this stress in my life! Thanks again, all. Have a wonderful weekend.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

As time goes on, you'll chuckle at the stories tenants might tell you.

I once had a tenant tell me she broke her knee tripping on the driveway bringing the garbage can up from the street but hadn't gone to the doctor yet. The woman was walking around without a limp. When I asked her how she managed to do that, she said she had a "high pain threshold". Right......

Gail