What are my rights if I'm behind on rent?

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Your rights if you're behind on rent (standard residential rental — Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act):

- Five-day notice before termination. If your rent is unpaid when due, the landlord must first give you written notice of the nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement; the landlord may terminate only if you fail to pay within five days after that written notice, and termination occurs by the landlord filing a special detainer (eviction) action .

- Right to reinstate before an eviction is filed. Before the landlord files a special detainer action, the rental agreement must be reinstated if you tender all past-due and unpaid periodic rent plus a reasonable late fee that is set forth in a written rental agreement .

- Right to reinstate after filing. After a special detainer action is filed, the agreement is reinstated only if you pay all past-due rent, reasonable late fees set forth in a written rental agreement, attorney fees, and court costs .

- After judgment, reinstatement is the landlord's choice. Once judgment has been entered in the landlord's favor in a special detainer action, any reinstatement of the rental agreement is solely in the landlord's discretion .

- You may not withhold rent on your own. A tenant may not withhold rent for any reason not authorized by the Act .

- Defense/counterclaim if the landlord is also in breach. In an eviction action based on nonpayment (or an action for rent while you're in possession), if the landlord is not in compliance with the rental agreement or the Act, you may counterclaim for any amount you may recover; the court may order you to pay undisputed rent into court and will determine the amount due each party, and if no rent remains due — or you acted in good faith and satisfy a rent judgment — judgment on possession is entered for you .

- Retaliation protection (limited). A landlord generally may not retaliate by bringing or threatening an action for possession after you complain to a code-enforcement agency about health-and-safety violations, complain to the landlord of a violation of the landlord's maintenance obligations, or join a tenants' union; however, the landlord may still bring a possession action if you are in default in rent .

- Utilities. The landlord may not discontinue utility services until the day after a writ of restitution or execution is executed , and a landlord generally may not terminate utility services that are part of the rental agreement except as necessary for repairs or as permitted after a writ is executed .

If you live in a mobile home park or RV long-term space, different rules apply: in a mobile home park, the landlord must give written notice and allow seven days (rather than five) to pay before terminating for nonpayment, and you may reinstate before judgment by tendering past-due rent, reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs ; for recreational vehicle long-term spaces, the notice period is five days with a similar pre-judgment reinstatement right . Mobile home park rental agreements also may not impose a late fee unless you have at least five days beyond the due date to pay, and any late penalty is capped at five dollars per day .

Note on scope: The sources provided do not address payment plans, rental assistance programs, or how to answer an eviction complaint, so I cannot speak to those. Because eviction timelines move quickly, consider consulting a licensed Arizona attorney about your specific situation.