I am currently renting an apartment in Arizona. I have been battling with a persistent roach problem for almost two months. I have been sprayed, baited and sprayed, baited and sprayed again, and just recently been bombed. The roaches are still there. I have done everything I need to do e.g. Taking out the trash, not leaving food out, cleaning all the time. My landlord refuses to let me go with out paying all the fees of breaking a lease. I have given them a 10 day demand for repairs. It was my understanding that they have 10 days to fix the problem. My landlord insists that they can do whatever they want for how ever long they want and as long as they are "trying" to fix the problem I can't leave. Is this true? If several attempts have been made to get rid of the problem and it still exhists am I forced to stay. Or break the lease and be penalized?

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Originally Posted by alanoue616

My landlord insists that they can do whatever they want for how ever long they want and as long as they are "trying" to fix the problem I can't leave. Is this true?

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We didn't draft your lease, so we can't answer that.

I do have some advice though: clean your apartment and then take pictures to use as potential evidence in small claims court should he try to keep your security deposit.

Get familiar with your lease. Carefully read the sections that describe the landlord's responsibilities and your rights as a tenant. Then, read through Arizona's state laws regarding tenant rights.

If you're confident he broke the contract designated in your lease or by Arizona law, confront him, demand your security deposit, and make it clear that you have photo documentation of the current state of the apartment.

Contact him daily asking about the status of your security deposit refund. He will understand that you mean business and will give you what you want rather than deal with you.

I agree with the above poster. You need to read your lease and if you have a lawyer friend maybe ask them to read for you. As a secondary matter, take pictures and lay the predicate for a future small claims case.

Most states have "Warrants of Habitability" laws. I do not know what Arizona law is but maybe you can Google "Warrant of Habitability" and "Arizona" and you can find the statute.

Obviously, I don't know how bad the roach problem is so it is hard to determine whether your landlord is in breach of your lease or state statute.

If the landlord is doing all the spraying and bombing, then it appears they are trying. Bad roaches will come back two or three times due to eggs laid before they are gone and can take several months of constant treatment.
Have they done it all themselves or have they called a company? Have you considered informing them if things are not done, you will call a company to spray ?

Also is this a house or apartmetn where other apartments could be the issue, if an apartment is he spraying all of them.

Read page (. http://www.azag.gov/civil_rights/Ten...sibilities.pdf Like Chuck says it appears the LL is trying to fix the issue. "been sprayed, baited and sprayed, baited and sprayed again, and just recently been bombed" You can also check with the local heath department to see if this roach problem makes your apartment uninhabitable by their standards, page 9 says he must meet the local codes.

Out of "agrees" but agree with Ballenger and FrChuck - you don't fumigate once and they pack their suitcases and move on.

The ll is showing good faith.