Do landlords have that right?! (rental, insurance, mortgage)

[aztucsonmomof3]

I am currently renting a house with my children. The landlord and their kids seem to come and go as they please. I was given notice that they were going to come yesterday to put a new cooler on the house. During this time his son and a friend were in the pool area messing around. They finished there job yesterday. Now this morning I am woken up by someone going into the gate to the pool. It is the landlord again and he has brought both kids and some other guys with him to remove a hot tub. I was given no notice that they would be back today and his son seem to think that it is okay to just roam around and get into stuff as he pleases. Is this legal? Do they have the right to do this. I feel like the backyard is still included as being in "my" house! Someone please help me.

[mfcarney]

Pretty sure the law considers that house yours. They must give notice (except in the case of emergency).

[RickTucsonHomes]

No they do not have the right to come and go as they please in most cases. For routine stuff it requires 48 hour notice. Plenty of information online pertaining to your rights as a tenant.

http://www.azag.gov/civil_rights/Ten...sibilities.pdf

Arizona Residential Landlord - Tenant Law

[AndyAMG]

Move. I had nosy land lords that stopped by whenever, they never stopped. They would claim they sent an e-mail notice. I had to get my First Sergent (Air Force advocate for troops) involved. My only recourse was to move at my expense. Arizona, has a lot of odd laws, and ways of getting around things. I never rent from a person, only management companies. Ususally when people rent out a house they have a vested interest in it an see it as them allowing you to live in their house. In my case I was the only thing keeping their mortgage afloat (they moved in with kids) and he was obsessed with his house and didn't understand the rules of renting a house. As a matter of fact he never read his own contract or knew any of the laws regarding renters. He begged me not to move out, I was going to give him a second chance, but my wife was fed up.

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by AndyAMG

Move. I had nosy land lords that stopped by whenever, they never stopped. They would claim they sent an e-mail notice. I had to get my First Sergent (Air Force advocate for troops) involved. My only recourse was to move at my expense. Arizona, has a lot of odd laws, and ways of getting around things. I never rent from a person, only management companies. Ususally when people rent out a house they have a vested interest in it an see it as them allowing you to live in their house. In my case I was the only thing keeping their mortgage afloat (they moved in with kids) and he was obsessed with his house and didn't understand the rules of renting a house. As a matter of fact he never read his own contract or knew any of the laws regarding renters. He begged me not to move out, I was going to give him a second chance, but my wife was fed up.

You're talking at about at least seven years ago, since you bought a house in 2005? (1)

I would think some rules, regulations and laws may have changed since back then.

[AndyAMG]

It was the reason we bought a house actually. It was a house on Pantano and Broadway. (Awful area by the way, even though it doesn't seem that way.)

It had nothing to do with rules or laws. They were bad land lords and there is nothing worse than a bad land lord when you are a good law abiding tenant. Even when they were lawful they had weird requests. One time he asked me If he could come by and do some shop work with my tools. Then he stopped by unannounced with a gift basket but then a few minutes later asked to check the pool for something real quick. I guess he thought we were friends rather than landlord/tenant. He told me a story about losing the house and he was convinced that I was living in his house and he had a right to be there whenever, he essentially told me that was how it was going to be. I don't like dragging police into things because the laws really are murky, he does technically own the house. I also saw him as one of those guys who was going to try to get free upgrades after I moved out, because every time he was allowed to come in he would comment on the walls having scuffs or the floors were damaged. I got tired of his antics and my wife said this guy is creepy and I don't feel safe here especially with young girls in the house. It sounds like the OP is going to have the same issue. I felt compelled to tell the OP this story because if it's like this now its going to get worse especially if the law is brought into it. Then they get vindictive and get worse. One of my friends landlords sabotaged the house then tried to claim damages above and beyond the value of what was broken. Renting is a crap shoot sometimes. The best thing to do is rent from PCS'd military members, they never bother you because they usually aren't anywhere near the city.

[finernfrogfur]

I agree with those who say that your landlord is in the wrong!!


A landlord must give a minimum of 24 hours notice to enter the property unless it's an emergency, which would include but not limited to things like a flood (i.e. pipes burst or natural disaster flood) or fire, etc. Now if a tenant has pre-empted that having given the landlord permission to enter as they wish, then the tenant is up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

You mentioned a pool area. That raises a red flag for me in that... What if someone got hurt, or worse...drowned, while in your yard? Who do you think would be held liable? Who do you think would be sued? Looks like that finger points your way . Even if the landlord were on the property at the time of incident you know the landlord would say "she's the tenant why wasn't she watching the activity in her yard" or just flat out deny being there when it happened.


If you are not able to amicably work with your landlord I'd start looking for another place to live. Don't let on that you're considering moving or looking for places...loose lips sink ships! When is your lease up? How much of a written notice to move do you need to give? And if you do need to move I wouldn't give your landlord anymore notice than you absolutely have to in order to minimize potential problems with that person.

[tumamoc]

Can you padlock the gate to the pool area? It doesn't solve your other problems, but it may send a not-so-subtle message without verbal confrontation.

[Marcy1210]

You mentioned a pool area. That raises a red flag for me in that... What if someone got hurt, or worse...drowned, while in your yard? Who do you think would be held liable? Who do you think would be sued? Looks like that finger points your way . Even if the landlord were on the property at the time of incident you know the landlord would say "she's the tenant why wasn't she watching the activity in her yard" or just flat out deny being there when it happened.

The tenant does not own the property, therefore, he/she is not liable for injuries occuring on the property. It is possible that injuries occuring inside the property aren't covered, but it depends on the insurance the landlord carries, and if the tenant has his/her own liability or comprehensive insurance policy separate from the landlord's. If the rental property has a mortgage, it is required by the lender to also have liability insurance, especially as a rental property. Check your rental agreement, or consult an attorney if in doubt.

As for access, Arizona Revised Statutes state:

A.R.S. §33-1343. Access

A. The tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen or contractors.

B. If the tenant notifies the landlord of a service request or a request for maintenance as prescribed in section 33-1341, paragraph 8, the notice from the tenant constitutes permission from the tenant for the landlord to enter the dwelling unit pursuant to subsection D of this section for the sole purpose of acting on the service or maintenance request.

C. The landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of emergency.

D. The landlord shall not abuse the right to access or use it to harass the tenant. Except in case of emergency or if it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two days' notice of the landlord's intent to enter and enter only at reasonable times.

E. The landlord has no other right of access except by court order and as permitted by sections 33-1369 and 33-1370, or if the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises.

For more information, see:

Arizona Revised Statutes

[finernfrogfur]

Originally Posted by Marcy1210

You mentioned a pool area. That raises a red flag for me in that... What if someone got hurt, or worse...drowned, while in your yard? Who do you think would be held liable? Who do you think would be sued? Looks like that finger points your way . Even if the landlord were on the property at the time of incident you know the landlord would say "she's the tenant why wasn't she watching the activity in her yard" or just flat out deny being there when it happened.

The tenant does not own the property, therefore, he/she is not liable for injuries occuring on the property. It is possible that injuries occuring inside the property aren't covered, but it depends on the insurance the landlord carries, and if the tenant has his/her own liability or comprehensive insurance policy separate from the landlord's. If the rental property has a mortgage, it is required by the lender to also have liability insurance, especially as a rental property. Check your rental agreement, or consult an attorney if in doubt.

Hey marcy1210, Good point about the insurance coverage . The down side about that though is I've seen how insurance companies fight tooth and nail to avoid paying on a claim even though their insured is at-fault or responsible. But if push came to shove... If the tenant has Renter's Insurance maybe that insurance company would fight the good fight against the landlord's insurance company.