The Federal Court set aside the CDC Order earlier this month. We were hoping that would mean an end to the Eviction Moratorium. However, late Friday the court decided to grant the Government’s request to stay their own order setting aside the CDC Order pending appeal. What does this mean? The CDC Order is still in effect through the appeal of the case and/or through June of this year. In Pima County only two of the Justices of the Peace will listen to a Motion to Contest the CDC Order meaning it is essentially impossible to contest a CDC Order...
May 13, 2021May 12, 2021
Frequently Asked Questions
May 12, 2021May 12, 2021
Virtual Court continues post COVID in Arizona for Evictions
Through COVID all parties have been appearing virtually in eviction actions in Arizona. In Pima County this has been done through Zoom. The option to appear virtually has increased tenant participation and made it easier for witnesses and managers to attend hearings. This provides more information to the court at an initial hearing and can lead to faster and more accurate results in eviction matters. SB1322 has passed the Arizona legislature and been signed by the Arizona governor. It amended the Arizona Revised Statues as follows: ARS 22-206: 22-206. Virtual appearance; detainer actions NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, IN A SPECIAL DETAINER...
May 12, 2021May 12, 2021
Alabama Association of Realtors v. HHS
As many of you are aware (and I have mentioned in prior posts), the Federal Court has set aside the CDC Order and therefore the Federal Eviction Moratorium. The set aside of the Order has been stayed or stopped while the parties provide their argument to the Court explaining why Court’s order to set aside the CDC Order should or should not be put in place while the case is under appeal. Both the Alabama Association of Realtors and HHS have filed arguments with the court for their position. The Alabama Association of Realtors Opposition to the requested stay can...
May 5, 2021May 5, 2021
CDC Order Set Aside
The US Federal Court for the District of Columbia has issued an order setting aside the CDC Order. Alabama Association of Relators v. US Dept of HHS While we anticipate the local Justice Court in Pima County will be slow to respond to this Order, we are hopeful when we present our argument to the Court they will follow basic legal procedure and abide by the Federal Court Order. We encourage our clients to send out any relevant nonpayment of rent notices for the month of May and move forward with evictions. The ruling of a Federal Court is binding...
April 27, 2021April 27, 2021
April 27th updates for Landlords
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...
April 21, 2021April 21, 2021
New Language Required on Notices to Tenants
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB” announced effective May 3, 2021 as part of the CDC Eviction Moratorium and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act “FDCPA” that the additional disclosures must be made to tenants with any nonpayment of rent notice or notice to terminate tenancy. We have reviewed the language and believe the language provided below is the most appropriate and provides the most protection for landlords based upon the CFPB’s new requirement. Additional information regarding this decision and the suggested language options can be found at: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_debt-collection_sample_covid-19_tenant_eviction_protection_disclosure_language.pdf We strongly urge and suggest that you include the following...
April 12, 2021April 12, 2021
Pima County Rental Assistance Updates
The City of Tucson and Pima County Eviction Prevention Program is facing a backlog of over 5000 applications. As a result, the program anticipates a minimum of 2 to 3 months will be needed to distribute funds to the outstanding 5000 applicants on the waitlist before new applications can be processed. (The City and County expect to process approximately 400 applications per week .) As it stands approximately $66,000 of the $31 million in rental assistance has been distributed. For information on the Program go to: https://tucsonpimaep.com/
March 17, 2021March 17, 2021
Pima County Board of Supervisors Provide Legal Assistance for Tenants
Tuesday the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved allotting and spending up to $2 million dollars of the federal rental assistance money allocated to Pima County (approximately $31 million) to provide legal counsel for tenants at risk of eviction due to unpaid rent or other material noncompliance of the lease agreement. While we understand the concern over evictions, for nonpayment of rent there are essentially two legal defenses. The tenant paid the rent. The tenant provided the landlord with notice of a needed repair and deducted the amount of the repair from rent (up to $300). We are concerned the...
March 11, 2021March 11, 2021
Challenging a CDC Declaration
As time moves forward and the courts as well as those of us in the Property Management Industry become more familiar with the CDC Declaration often submitted by tenants the details of how to handle a challenge to this Declaration have become more clear. Attached below is a form we created in our office to assist us in determine if and when a Challenge to a CDC Declaration should be filed while providing us with the necessary information to include in a Motion to Challenge a CDC Declaration. landlord stmt re cdc