Eviction help. Tenant is using habitability as excuse

[Albert Johnson]

Hi I own a rental in Arizona. Tenant has not paid rent in 2 months. It is now going on 3. I sent a 5 day notice to pay. And had eviction court over the phone today. The judge scheduled us for a trial hearing on Wednesday. The tenant is using a habitability issue as reason for non payment. 

Here is a timeliness of events.

Beginning of February tenant complain of mold in bathroom. 

I went to inspect and found no mold in the bathroom.

Time goes by with multiple conversations nothing about habitability or mold. 

tenant kept saying they will use tax money to pay rent, but never paid

March 20 tenant contacts me about a backup. I immediately called the plumber. The plumber said the septic was full. We called our septic contractor the same day and they cleaned it out.

2 days later they said water pump not working and they still have the backup in an closet entry / living room. This is where a water pump is located. 

We called the plumber the same day and the plumber stated they would be there the nreplace. They also stated mold in bathroom. I told them we would get it fix.

area where damage was was cleaned out.

The next day the plumber said the pump overheated and needs to be replace. The next day plumber had a smaller replacement that didn't fit. 2 days later he came with correct part.

as this was completed I ordered mold test from a license company on Thursday April 2nd. to test for mold throughout the house including bathroom, to assess how to treat. It usually takes 2 to 3 days because they send it to the lab.

finally got the test back today on the same day after my court hearing.

So I arrange to have mold repairs done including moving sump to an outside location. My contractors wanted to come tomorrow morning to start work, but they are making excuses saying they need to go to the doctor because they are sick. They said Thursday at 3pm they will be available which is the day after court.

Anyone has experience with this or advice?

thanks

[Nate Sullivan]

14 SFH in Memphis, self-manage all of them, filed plenty of these in Shelby County General Sessions over the years. AZ rules are different so listen to your attorney on procedure, but the universal stuff still applies and your timeline is actually working for you.

Print everything. Original mold complaint date in February, the inspection notes when you found nothing, every text from tenant about using tax money for rent, the plumber and septic invoices with dates, the mold test order, the lab results. The judge needs to see a landlord responding inside a day or two on every real maintenance issue. That kills the slumlord narrative they're trying to build.

The two month gap on the original mold complaint is the part I would lean on. Tenant raised it once, you came out, then nothing for six weeks until they had a non-payment problem. Habitability defenses get weaker when the complaint reappears only after the rent stops. Judges see that pattern.

One thing to ask your attorney about: in a lot of states the judge can require the tenant to pay undisputed rent into court while a habitability counterclaim is being sorted. If your tenant can't put up the money, that hurts their good-faith argument. Worth knowing whether AZ does that.

Hope that helps. Get some sleep before Wednesday.