HOUSING

Both Arizona and the U.S. government have instituted protections from evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Arizona, an eviction action may still be filed in the court but the enforcement of the eviction is delayed. The U.S. government passed the CARES Act which states that landlords/property owners may not file eviction actions or assess fees when rent has not been paid on properties with federally financed mortgages.

CARES Act – Eviction Filings & Fees
On March 27, 2020 Congress passed and the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act. Among the many provisions, the Act provides a moratorium on eviction filings for properties financed by certain federal loan programs, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The CARES Act went into effect immediately and is set to expire July 25, 2020. The CARES Act states:

§ 4024. Temporary moratorium on eviction filings.
. . .
(b) MORATORIUM.—During the 120-day period beginning on the date of enactment of
this Act, the lessor of a covered dwelling may not—
(1) make, or cause to be made, any filing with the court of jurisdiction to initiate
a legal action to recover possession of the covered dwelling from the
tenant for nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges; or
(2) charge fees, penalties, or other charges to the tenant related to such
nonpayment of rent.

This means that if the rental property is financed with a federally backed mortgage, the CARES Act states that legal action for eviction because of non-payment of rent may not be filed. In addition, the tenant may not be charged late fees, penalties or other charges related to the non-payment of rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has offered guidance on the application of this Act, making clear that actions may not be filed under the Act regardless of whether the tenant is directly affected by COVID or not.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, federal mortgage companies, offer websites that allow tenants and the public to search records and discover if a specific property is covered by their financing. To search whether a rental property is federally financed and subject to the CARES Act protections, visit: https://www.knowyouroptions.com/rentersresourcefinder with Fannie Mae and https://myhome.freddiemac.com/renting/lookup.html with Freddie Mac. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac search tools do not include all the federal financing covered by the CARES Act.

Arizona Delayed Enforcement of Eviction Actions
On March 24, 2020 Arizona Governor Ducey issued Executive Order 2020-14 to delay evictions for renters impacted by COVID-19.  The Executive Order is set to expire July 22nd, 2020. The Executive Order does not stop eviction actions. The Executive Order delays enforcement of eviction actions. This means that a landlord can still go to court to evict a tenant and a court can still grant an eviction order but law enforcement officers, such as a sheriff’s office or constable, must temporarily delay the enforcement of the eviction order from the court if the tenant notifies their landlord of any of the following:

• The tenant has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and must be quarantined;
• The tenant has been ordered to self-quarantine by a medical professional because of their symptoms as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
• Someone in the tenant’s household has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and the tenant must be quarantined;
• The tenant has a health condition, as defined by the CDC that makes them think they are more at risk for COVID-19 than the average person;
• The tenant has suffered a substantial loss of income as a result of COVID-19, such as a job loss, reduced pay or compensation, the tenant’s workplace closed, an obligation to miss work to care for a home-bound school-age child or other circumstances.

On March 27^th, 2020 Arizona Governor Ducey announced the availability of $5 million in new funding to help Arizonans struggling to make rent payments due to the impact of COVID-19. Rental assistance may be made available to households whose primary residence is a rental unit located in Arizona and who have seen a reduction in income due to COVID-19, that when annualized, does not exceed 100 percent of the area median income adjusted for a family size for the county in which they reside.

Renters can apply online for rent payment assistance from the Arizona Department of Housing at https://housing.az.gov/general-public/eviction-prevention-assistance.

Those without computer access may call their local Community Action Agency to start an application over the telephone.

Other COVID-19 related help and resources may be found on Arizona Together.

Community Legal Services created fillable Notice of COVID-19 forms in English and Spanish that tenants may use to notify their landlord to prevent the enforcement of eviction. Tenants are required to provide the landlord or property manager supportive documents available to them. If tenants have one or more of the COVID-19 related situations listed in the Governor’s Executive Order and they do not already have a document stating your situation, they should ask their medical professional for a document that describes their medical situation. If a tenant has suffered a substantial loss of income as a result of COVID-19, the tenant may want to includenotices from their employer or pay stubs. Next steps:

• Download, fill out, and sign the form.
• Make several copies of the form and the documents to be provided to the landlord.
• Mail or hand-deliver the Notice form and documents.
• Keep a record of the date you gave or sent the Notice and documents to the landlord.

The Tenant COVID-19 Notice should only be used for evictions where the tenant has the right to remain in the property due to the circumstances related to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Tenants should provide the Tenant COVID-19 Notice and supportive documentation as soon as they first receive notice of termination or eviction, including notices for nonpayment of rent or when you are served with eviction papers.

The CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) passed by Congress stops some landlords from filing new eviction actions for nonpayment of rent for the next 120 days (through July 25^th, 2020). The CARES Act does not apply to eviction cases that were filed before March 27^th, 2020, leases that are not part of the housing programs below, or evictions based on another reason besides nonpayment of rent.

The CARES Act prevents a landlord from filing for eviction against and charging late fees to a tenant for nonpayment of rent if they live in subsidized housing. This applies to federal housing programs, including:

• Public housing
• Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program
• Section 8 project-based housing
• Section 202 housing for the elderly
• Section 811 housing for people with disabilities
• Section 236 multifamily rental housing
• Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR) housing
• HOME
• Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
• McKinney-Vento Act homelessness programs (42 U.S.C. § 11360, et seq.)
• Section 515 Rural Rental Housing
• Sections 514 and 516 Farm Labor Housing
• Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants
• Section 538 multifamily rental housing
• Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) 

Landlords and property managers may still go to court and get a judgment against tenants for not paying their rent. If a tenant receives a summons, they should call the court to confirm the court date and find out if the court is conducting hearings telephonically.

After getting a judgment against a tenant, the landlord can go back to the court after five days to get a writ of restitution. If the eviction action was filed on an immediate or irreparable breach, the landlord can obtain the writ of restitution the day after the landlord gets a judgment. Writs of restitution are executed (served on a tenant or the rental unit) by a constable or sheriff. Tenants should give their landlord or property manager the Tenant COVID-19 Notice and supporting documents as soon as possible in the eviction process and before the constable or sheriff arrives at their home to lock them out.

If a tenant provides the Tenant COVID-19 Notice and documentation to their landlord and the constable/sheriff comes to the property, give a copy of the Notice and documentation to the constable/sheriff. If the constable/sheriff still intends to lock the tenant out of the property, they may want to contact an attorney right away.

To contact free legal help in your community:

Community Legal Services - https://clsaz.org/office-locations/

• Areas Served
  • La Paz County
  • Maricopa County
  • Mohave County
  • Yavapai County
  • Yuma County

DNA People's Legal Services - https://dnalegalservices.org/

• Areas Served
  • Coconino County
  • Navajo Nation

Southern Arizona Legal Aid - https://www.sazlegalaid.org/services/

• Areas Served
  • Apache County (non-Navajo Nation)
  • Cochise
  • Gila
  • Graham
  • Greenlee
  • Navajo (non-Navajo Nation)
  • Pima
  • Pinal
  • Santa Cruz

Yes. Tenants are still responsible for all monthly payments of rent for as long as they reside in the property. It is important for tenants to document each date they paid or tried to pay their rent. If rent is refused by the landlord/property manager, tenants should save the rent for future payment for as long as they remain in the unit. If the landlord obtained a judgment against a tenant, the judgement is not waived, and any late fees and other charges may continue to accrue while the tenant and their family reside in the property.

Any homeowner who can’t pay their mortgage because of COVID-19 should contact their mortgage servicer right away. The mortgage servicer’s contact information can usually be found on the monthly mortgage statement or coupon book. If a homeowner can’t find their mortgage servicer’s contact information or isn’t sure who their mortgage servicer is, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides helpful tips here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-can-i-tell-who-owns-my-mortgage-en-214.

Save Our Home AZ  is a program to help Arizona homeowners avoid foreclosure by making their mortgage payments more affordable – through Principal Reduction Assistance, Monthly Mortgage Subsidy Assistance for underemployed and unemployed Arizonans, and Second Lien Elimination Assistance to qualified Arizona homeowners.

It depends. As of mid-May, if a homeowner’s mortgage is backed by the federal government, the homeowner’s mortgage servicer won’t be allowed to begin a foreclosure action against them until at least June 30, 2020. This foreclosure “freeze” applies to mortgages backed by:

• Fannie Mae
• Freddie Mac
• U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
• U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

If a homeowner doesn’t know whether their mortgage is “federally backed,” they should ask their mortgage servicer.

If a homeowner’s mortgage is not backed by the federal government, this foreclosure freeze does not apply. However, many private mortgage servicers are providing similar relief to homeowners, so every homeowner who can’t pay their mortgage because of COVID-19 may wish to contact their mortgage servicer to ask what the homeowner’s options are.

No. Landlords must comply with Arizona law, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic. If a tenant’s air conditioning is not working, the tenant must notify the landlord (ideally, in writing). Once the tenant has notified the landlord, the landlord must make the required repairs as soon as possible. The landlord is legally required to fix the tenant’s air conditioning regardless of whether the tenant has paid their rent.

If the landlord knows the tenant has tested positive for COVID-19, it is up to the landlord to make the required repairs in a way that protects everyone’s health and safety. For example, the landlord may insist that a tenant who has tested positive for COVID-19 (and everyone else in the tenant’s household) be wearing a mask and remain in another closed room while the repairs are being made. Both the landlord and the tenant may also insist that the person making the repairs wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a mask and gloves. That way, the repairs can be made without putting anyone’s health and safety at risk.