Arizona Eviction Notice and Special Detainer Complaint Package

ARIZONA EVICTION NOTICE AND SPECIAL DETAINER COMPLAINT PACKAGE

PART I — FIVE-DAY NOTICE FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT (A.R.S. § 33-1368(B))

TO: [________________________________] (Tenant)
PREMISES: [____________________________________________________________]
CITY: [________________________________] AZ [________]
DATE OF NOTICE: [__/__/____]

Notice of Nonpayment of Rent and Intent to Terminate

You are hereby notified, pursuant to A.R.S. § 33-1368(B), that rent is past due and unpaid in the amount stated below, and that if the rent and reasonable late fees are not paid within FIVE (5) DAYS after written notice (counting calendar days, A.R.S. § 33-1368(G)), the Landlord will TERMINATE the rental agreement and file a Special Detainer action under A.R.S. § 33-1377.

Payment must be received by: [__/__/____] (after five calendar days following actual or deemed receipt)

Payment may be made to:

Reinstatement of Rental Agreement

Under A.R.S. § 33-1368(B):

• Before filing of Special Detainer: The rental agreement is reinstated if the tenant tenders ALL past-due rent and reasonable late fees set forth in the written rental agreement.
• After filing of Special Detainer: The rental agreement is reinstated only if the tenant pays ALL past-due rent, reasonable late fees, attorney's fees, AND court costs.
• After judgment: Reinstatement is solely in the discretion of the Landlord.

Landlord / Agent

NAME: [________________________________]
ADDRESS: [________________________________]
PHONE: [________________________________]
EMAIL: [________________________________]
SIGNATURE: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

Certificate of Delivery (A.R.S. § 33-1313)

I certify that this Notice was delivered under A.R.S. § 33-1313 by (check one):

☐ Hand delivery to Tenant
☐ Registered or certified mail, addressed to the Tenant at the designated place for receipt or last known residence; mailed [DATE], tracking [NUMBER], actual/deemed receipt [DATE]

Posting plus mailing is a post-filing summons method under A.R.S. § 33-1377(B), not the pre-suit notice method stated in § 33-1313.

SERVER: [________________________________] SIGNATURE: [________________________________]

PART II — TEN-DAY NOTICE OF MATERIAL NONCOMPLIANCE (A.R.S. § 33-1368(A))

TO: [________________________________] (Tenant)
PREMISES: [________________________________]
DATE: [__/__/____]

You are notified of the following material noncompliance with the rental agreement and/or A.R.S. § 33-1341:

Type of notice (check one):

☐ 10-Day Notice — Material Noncompliance (A.R.S. § 33-1368(A)): The rental agreement will terminate on [__/__/____] (not less than 10 days after receipt) unless you remedy the breach within 10 days.

☐ 5-Day Notice — Health/Safety Breach (A.R.S. § 33-1368(A)): The rental agreement will terminate on [__/__/____] (not less than 5 days after receipt) unless you remedy the breach within 5 days.

☐ Repeat Breach Notice (A.R.S. § 33-1368(A)): This is a notice of an additional act of noncompliance of the same or similar nature to a prior breach. The Landlord may institute a Special Detainer action 10 days after delivery of this notice; no opportunity to cure is required.

LANDLORD/AGENT: [________________________________] SIGNATURE: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

PART III — IMMEDIATE NOTICE OF MATERIAL AND IRREPARABLE BREACH (A.R.S. § 33-1368(A))

TO: [________________________________] (Tenant)
PREMISES: [________________________________]
DATE: [__/__/____]

You are notified that you have committed a MATERIAL AND IRREPARABLE BREACH of the rental agreement and/or applicable law in the following respect(s):

☐ Illegal discharge of a weapon
☐ Homicide (A.R.S. §§ 13-1102 through 13-1105)
☐ Prostitution (A.R.S. § 13-3211)
☐ Criminal street gang activity (A.R.S. § 13-105)
☐ Unlawful manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, use, or storage of a controlled substance (A.R.S. § 13-3451)
☐ Threatening or intimidating (A.R.S. § 13-1202)
☐ Assault (A.R.S. § 13-1203)
☐ Acts constituting a nuisance under A.R.S. § 12-991
☐ Breach jeopardizing health, safety, and welfare of Landlord, agent, or other tenants
☐ Imminent or actual serious property damage

Description of incident: [____________________________________________________________]

Date of incident: [__/__/____]

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 33-1368(A), the rental agreement is TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY. The Landlord will proceed under A.R.S. § 33-1377 with a Special Detainer action.

LANDLORD/AGENT: [________________________________] SIGNATURE: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

PART IV — SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT FOR SPECIAL DETAINER (A.R.S. § 33-1377)

IN THE [☐ JUSTICE COURT, [________________________________] PRECINCT ☐ SUPERIOR COURT], [________________________________] COUNTY, STATE OF ARIZONA

CASE NO.: [________________________________]

SUMMONS — SPECIAL DETAINER

THE STATE OF ARIZONA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT(S):

A Complaint has been filed against you. You are summoned to appear at trial of this Special Detainer action at the following time and place:

COURT: [________________________________]
ADDRESS: [________________________________]
DATE: [__/__/____] TIME: [____] [AM/PM]
COURTROOM: [________]

The appearance and trial date is set not less than three nor more than six days from the date of this Summons under A.R.S. § 33-1377(B). The Summons must be served at least two days before the return day. For a material and irreparable breach under § 33-1377(E), the trial and return date is set no later than the third day after filing the complaint.

IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR, JUDGMENT WILL BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR POSSESSION OF THE PREMISES, ALL RENT AND OTHER AMOUNTS OWED, ATTORNEY'S FEES, AND COURT COSTS.

You have the right to file a written Answer. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may contact:

• Community Legal Services: (602) 258-3434 (or www.clsaz.org)
• Southern Arizona Legal Aid: (520) 623-9461
• State Bar of Arizona Lawyer Referral: (866) 482-9227
• AZCourtHelp: https://azcourthelp.org/eviction

You have the right to an interpreter at court.

CLERK OF THE COURT: [________________________________]
BY DEPUTY CLERK: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

COMPLAINT FOR SPECIAL DETAINER

Plaintiff alleges:

1. Parties. Plaintiff [________________________________] is the [☐ owner ☐ managing agent] of the premises. Defendant [________________________________] is the tenant in possession.

2. Premises. The rental premises are located at:
[____________________________________________________________]
[________________________________], Arizona [________]

3. Jurisdiction. This matter is properly before the Court because the amount in controversy (other than possession) is $[________], which is [☐ within the Justice Court jurisdictional limit of $10,000 ☐ within the Superior Court jurisdiction].

4. Rental Agreement. The parties entered into a [☐ written ☐ oral] rental agreement commencing [__/__/____] with monthly rent of $[________] due on the [____] day of each month.

5. Ground for Special Detainer. Defendant has committed the following:

☐ Nonpayment of rent — A.R.S. § 33-1368(B); 5-Day Notice served [__/__/____]
☐ Material noncompliance — A.R.S. § 33-1368(A); 10-Day Notice served [__/__/____]
☐ Health/safety breach — A.R.S. § 33-1368(A); 5-Day Notice served [__/__/____]
☐ Material and irreparable breach — A.R.S. § 33-1368(A); Immediate Notice served [__/__/____]
☐ Holdover after end of lease term — Lease ended [__/__/____]
☐ Other: [________________________________]

6. Notice and Service. Plaintiff served the foregoing Notice on Defendant in compliance with A.R.S. § 33-1313 on [__/__/____]. The applicable notice period has expired and Defendant has failed to cure or vacate.

7. Sums Due.

8. Compliance with ARLTA. Plaintiff has complied with all applicable provisions of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and has not waived any breach by accepting rent with knowledge of the breach under A.R.S. § 33-1371.

9. No Retaliation. This action is not retaliatory under A.R.S. § 33-1381.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for:
A. Judgment for possession of the premises;
B. Issuance of a Writ of Restitution under A.R.S. § 12-1178;
C. Judgment for unpaid rent, late fees, attorney's fees, and costs;
D. Per-diem rent through restoration of possession;
E. Such other relief as the Court deems just.

Verification

I, [________________________________], declare under penalty of perjury that I am the Plaintiff (or authorized agent); that I have read the foregoing Complaint; and that the factual allegations are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

SIGNATURE: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

Attorney / Plaintiff Pro Se

PART V — REQUEST FOR WRIT OF RESTITUTION (A.R.S. § 12-1178)

Plaintiff [________________________________], having obtained Judgment for Possession on [__/__/____], requests the Court issue a Writ of Restitution directing the [Constable / Sheriff] to restore possession of the premises located at [________________________________] to Plaintiff.

☐ Writ of Restitution may issue 5 calendar days after entry of judgment (per A.R.S. § 12-1178(C))
☐ Special circumstances justify earlier issuance: [________________________________]

SIGNATURE: [________________________________] DATE: [__/__/____]

PART VI — INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCEDURAL NOTES

Arizona Notice Periods Summary

All notice periods are CALENDAR DAYS per A.R.S. § 33-1368(G).

Service of Notice (A.R.S. § 33-1313)

1. Deliver the notice in hand to the tenant; or
2. Mail it by registered or certified mail to the place the tenant designated for communications, or, if none was designated, to the tenant's last known residence. Under § 33-1313(B), mailed notice is deemed received when actually received or five days after mailing, whichever occurs first.

Trial Timing (A.R.S. § 33-1377(B); RPEA Rule 11)

Under § 33-1377(B), the special detainer summons issues on the filing day and sets the appearance and trial date three to six days from the date of the summons. It must be served at least two days before the return day. Section 33-1377(E) sets an earlier trial and return date for a material and irreparable breach.

Filing Checklist

☐ Complaint for Special Detainer (verified)
☐ Summons (issued by Clerk)
☐ Current Residential Eviction Information Sheet to serve on each residential tenant with the summons and complaint
☐ Copy of rental agreement
☐ Copy of 5-Day, 10-Day, or Immediate Notice with proof of delivery
☐ Rent ledger / accounting
☐ Filing fee (Justice Court ~$35; Superior Court ~$240; verify locally)
☐ Service fee (Constable/Sheriff)

Common Tenant Defenses

• Defective notice (wrong notice type, incorrect amount, improper service)
• Acceptance of rent with knowledge of breach — waiver under § 33-1371
• Retaliation under § 33-1381 (presumption if tenant complained within 6 months)
• Habitability defenses under § 33-1324 (Landlord's obligation to maintain)
• Discrimination under federal Fair Housing Act and A.R.S. § 41-1491 et seq.
• Improper service of summons (RPEA Rule 5)

Justice Court vs. Superior Court Jurisdiction

• Justice Court: Amounts up to $10,000 (exclusive of possession)
• Superior Court: Amounts exceeding $10,000

Sources and References

• Arizona Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10 (ARLTA): https://www.azleg.gov/arsDetail/?title=33
• Arizona Rules of Procedure for Eviction Actions: https://govt.westlaw.com/azrules/
• Arizona Department of Housing — ARLTA: https://housing.az.gov/
• AZCourtHelp Eviction Resources: https://azcourthelp.org/eviction
• AZEvictionHelp.org

END OF ARIZONA EVICTION NOTICE AND SPECIAL DETAINER COMPLAINT PACKAGE