Hello there

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There are no laws that prohibit or allow this (what we say as lawyers is "the law is silent"). The body of law that is HOA law in AZ does not address the situation where an owner rents out the unit and the LL tenant law doesn't either. Which pretty much means that the landlord can do it and get away with it, because if you try to deduct anything from the rent that has nothing to do with the sanitary or safety conditions at the condo, then the court will permit an eviction. However, that does not mean that you cannot take the landlord to small claims court for the payment of or reimbursement of this money (if you have already paid it). Under the circumstances you will most likely win a small court case once the judge hears what happened here -- but most tenants will take the LL to small claims court after their tenancy ends because to do so while you are still a tenant may prompt the landlord not to renew your lease and if you wanted to continue living in the condo then that would be a problem. So it really is a personal decision that you have to make regarding how far you want to push this right now and if you move out of the condo over the next three years before the statute of limitations is up you could wait until that time to take the matter into small claims court.

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MARY

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