Justice Court Update:  At the moment, only two of the Pima County Justices of the Peace will hear a motion challenging the CDC Declaration submitted by a tenant.  While I disagree with their position and believe we are asking for a finding of fact and not declaratory relief as these Justices are arguing, this leaves landlords in a very difficult position.  Our only option for cases before these judges is to take the matter to the Superior Court.  Many individuals, myself included, have contacted higher courts and are requesting relief from what we believe to be an inaccurate position by these justices.

Arizona Legislative Update:  The Arizona Legislature passed and the Governor signed into a law SB1322.  This allows parties to appear remotely at least initially in all eviction actions.  We have yet to see how this will be implemented once the court rooms reopen with some individuals in person and some remote, but we hope it will continue the trend of having more tenant participation in these hearings.  Link below to interesting article about remote appearances.  Atlantic Article

Pima County and City of Tucson Rental Assistance Update:      The joint Pima County and City of Tucson’s $31 million program was the first in the state to launch a tracking dashboard with live statistics on the status of their joint program through Community Investment Corporation (CIC). As of this writing, the program has received nearly 7,600 applications, with only 349 applicants paid or approved for payment. So far, $1,317,864 has been committed, and the program is anticipated to ramp up in the coming weeks as case workers move to expedite up to 400 applications per week.