If a tenant failed to pay rent or is being evicted for another reason, Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 12-1171 – 12-1183 only permit the judge to consider who has the right to possession of the property and prohibits the judge from considering a tenant’s hardship.
This specific situation is detailed in Tucson Lot 4, LLC v. Sunquest Information Systems, Inc. In that case the trial court improperly granted Sunquest an injunction prohibiting the eviction based on a claim of hardship. On appeal, the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s injunction and stated that the trial court lacked authority to grant the injunction because it required the court to consider Sunquest’s hardship, which is not a proper issue in an eviction action. This opinion reiterated that the only relevant issue in an eviction action is the right to possession.
If you own property or if you are a tenant in need of assistance with landlord/tenant related issues, contact Rich Elley at Elley Law PLC at (480) 788-4529 or rich@elleylaw.com.
