State Specific Question About: ARIZONA (AZ)

Of course they can - your situation is proof of that. The management should be working to correct the problem.

Have you attempted any contact during normal business hours? Have you thought of heating water on the stove as a temporary solution?

Physically, they can (as Bill points out).

But according to laws and standards, the landlord is probably not allowed (I say probably, because I don't know anything about AZ. But I would be very (very) surprised is it were allowed, there) to do that.

It is not your responsibility to heat water on the stove. The management MUST supply you with hot water. The only thing that I can think of is, that because it was the weekend, that there was no one in the maintenance office to take your complaint. But it was the manager's responsibility to provide you with an emergency number to call after hours, and they would then decide if the problem was serious enough to need attention immediately. Lack of hot water is a serious problem.

I would call the maintenance office TODAY (Monday), repeat your complaint, ask WHEN they expect to have the problem fixed and, if it is not to be fixed today, warn them that you are going to call some kind of local housing authority and report them for keeping the apartment in uninhabitable condition (no question that it is), and if that doesn't get you the immediate service that you deserve, follow through with the complaint.

I believe hot and cold water availability is mandatory. Landlords must provide the means for both. It is a habitability issue.

Landlords provide cold water for apartment buildings with one water meter. In multi-apartments usually Tenants are responsible for other utilities like heat and hot water if your rental says tenants are responsible for rent plus utilities.

Each apartment must have their own electric or gas water tanks and furnaces to be able to pay for their own usage.

And to answer your question - "Can apartments allow tenants to NOT have Hot water for periods at a time?" That answer is NO. You MUST have hot water if it is supposed to be provided by the building and especially if it is included in the rent.

It is a housing and health issue to be without hot water as well as cold water. And there is no need for you to heat water as a solution.

Are you the only one this is happening to? If so, you should all be getting after management to fix the hot water situation.

What, tenant should pay the apartment's gas bill, so that they will turn back on the gas and ONLY THEN the apartment management canwill fulfill their responsibility to provide hot water?

Laura, you are precisely right in more ways than you realize,

You mention that "this [providing hot water] is managements responsibility just as its my responsibility to pay the rent and do what I need to do as a tenant"

What many landlords do not realize is that this concept is EXACTLY the basis of modern law's linking of habitability to the process of eviction. In most states (if not all states) lack of landlord's providing habitable premises is now (in most if not all states) a valid defense against eviction. In refusing to provide hot water, landlord gives up the right to collect rent.

In many states, that principle requires landlord to value the rental payment to allow for the diminished value of the premises for uninhabitability items such as lack of hot water. What that means is that landlord is require to give up rent payment for your loss of hot water. You should demand that payment because of landlord's inattention to your complaint over the weekend and until the hot water is restored. How much? Well, lack of hot water for a weekend plus Monday is (in my opinion) a serious matter. I would suggest 1% of rent per day. I don't know what a judge would rule. This is more than money, it is a matter of teaching the management a lesson so that they will pay more attention to their responsibility in the future. Most judges would support such action.

What many landlords do not understand is that this concept of linkage between payment of rent and landlord's responsibility to provide habitable premises (landlord's warranty of habitability) is relatively new, and came about because of the record of the landlord community in arrogantly rejecting their responsibility. The linkage is the result, and landlords can expect more responsibility laws if they do not take up their responsibilities. So they have forced this policy onto the entire landlord community, including those of us that take our responsibilities seriously.

Colin, I don't believe that you are right.

Usually, such laws are written with some kind of presumption that 5 days (or 30 days) is a "reasonable" length of time for landlord to respond, but that is a rebuttable presumption to be modified according to the circumstances.

Do YOU believe that 5 days is a reasonable time for a tenant to wait without hot water for the landlord to get his act together to get it fixed? I don't and I cannot imagine any judge agreeing with that. 24 hours sounds more like the right number to allow a landlord to get repairs completed.

Water is included in your rent but HOT water is not unless ELECTRICITY (or gas) is also.

However, I'm sure a working WATER HEATER appliance is required to be included, of course.

Colin, I apologize because you are partially right.

AZ State Law Chapter 3, 33-1624 says that:

Landlord shall:

1.Comply with the requirements of applicable building codes materially affecting health and safety as prescribed in section 9-1303.

2. Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.

...

6. Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times

and 33-1361 says:

If there is a noncompliance by the landlord with section 33-1324 materially affecting health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than five days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in five days.

So, as I read it, AZ law says, that tenant can terminate his lease with 5 days written notice, but it doesn't say anything about other action that tenant can take. In fact, considering the urgency of landlord providing hot water, other actions may indeed be appropriate.

In fact, 33-1364 says:

If contrary to the rental agreement or section 33-1324 the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply running water, gas or electrical service, or both if applicable, and reasonable amounts of hot water or heat, air-conditioning or cooling, where such units are installed and offered, or essential services, the tenant may give reasonable notice to the landlord specifying the breach and may do one of the following:

1. Procure reasonable amounts of hot water, running water, heat and essential services during the period of the landlord's noncompliance and deduct their actual reasonable cost from the rent.

2. Recover damages based upon the diminution in the fair rental value of the dwelling unit.

3. Procure reasonable substitute housing during the period of the landlord's noncompliance, in which case the tenant is excused from paying rent for the period of the landlord's noncompliance. In the event the periodic cost of such substitute housing exceeds the amount of the periodic rent, upon delivery by tenant of proof of payment for such substitute housing, tenant may recover from landlord such excess costs up to an amount not to exceed twenty-five per cent of the periodic rent which has been excused pursuant to this paragraph.

So, according to 33-1364, there is NO requirement that tenant wait 5 days to take action specified in 33-1364, including rent withholding, claim of rent diminution, or recovery of reasonable housing substitution.

So Laura, I would suggest that, if hot water is not restored when you get home today, then go to a hotel until the hot water is restored, and bill the landlord for the cost.

The management office is probably closed on the weekend. Monday morning seems to be a little bit early to be

b!tching about how long it is taking for repairs to be made, when the complaint was phoned in over the weekend!!!

Moshe I often agree with your conclusions if not your method of expressing yourself, but in this case I think you are wrong. Tenants of a large complex calls in on weekend, issue is not fixed on Monday morning 8am and you advise she go to a hotel and send owner the bill?

If this were my own HOME I probably couldn't get the hotel water heater replaced (if that is what is wrong) on a holiday weekend. We would have to 'rough it' until a plumber could get here and diagnose!

See AZ revised statutes 33-1364 posted above.

I think that there are many landlords here who are AFRAID that actions like this could be taken seriously and could bite them someday for not paying attention to responsibility. For that reason, they resort to putdowns

and other illogical disparagements hoping to stop the spread of such ideas. In AZ the law explicitly specifies the remedy.

I own a medium-sized complex and I have had tenants call on the weekend with problems that need immediate attention.

If landlord gives some unavailable address for contact and the law says that tenant must contact, then the landlord is responsible for contact made at the specified address.

AZ law says (as above): "(tenant) may do one of the following:

3. Procure reasonable substitute housing during the period of the landlord's noncompliance, in which case the tenant is excused from paying rent for the period of the landlord's noncompliance. In the event the periodic cost of such substitute housing exceeds the amount of the periodic rent, upon delivery by tenant of proof of payment for such substitute housing, tenant may recover ..."

Being in AZ and having had ALL the water to my apts off all weekend - I was lucky, had one empty, another moved Dec 31, one was gone for the holiday so only one home.

I offered to pay her hotel - she is a VERY good long time tenant. But she chose to remain home with water buckets we got her.

Usually in AZ there is no reinbursement, only rent pro rating. I'm not familiar with the law Moshe quoted about 25% more than the rent. I'll have to check on it.

Large apts often only have a couple of water heaters and use recirculating pumps to deliver hot water.

"Usually in AZ there is no reinbursement, only rent pro rating."

But apparently there is. See 33-1364.

"As a landlord, I would certainly offer to prorate the rent for the days without HW, but not to actually pay for a hotel room. "

Why not? So you think that the tenant needs to suffer because you rebate rent? Think of why AZ enacted that statute. Do you (s landlord) owe it? From what point of view are you reasoning that rebate of rent is enough for tenant who is entitled to hot watre and doesn't get it.

My whole point is that, landlords with attitudes like these have caused severe reactions from state legislatures, and we all suffer because of it. If landlords continue with practices and attitudes like this, we will all face EVEN MORE laws necessary to protect consumers, simply because of landlords who won't police themselves.

If we don't do it ourselves, then the government will HAVE TO step in to help us.

It seems to me, and I have no personal knowledge of AZ LL/T law, that the tenant must give written notice to the LL of a problem. The LL then has 5 days to correct the problem.

Per the post, the tenant hasn't given the written notice, that we know of.

Until the written notice is given I don't see how the tenant can bill the LL for a hotel stay.