How the Arizona eviction process works
To evict a tenant in Arizona, you deliver the correct written notice, let it run, file a special detainer complaint, and appear at a trial the summons sets 3 to 6 days out under A.R.S. 33-1377(B). If you win, the court grants a writ of restitution, which can’t issue until five calendar days after judgment under A.R.S. 12-1178(C).
Arizona’s speed puts the pressure on paperwork. With trial days after filing, there’s little time to fix a bad notice, and a judge will look hard at the dates. Our Arizona landlord-tenant law guide covers deposits, entry and rent control; this page goes step by step through the case.
Arizona eviction notice periods
A.R.S. 33-1368 sets the notices, and subsection G says “days” means calendar days, so weekends and holidays count.
- Unpaid rent: written notice of nonpayment and your intent to terminate if rent isn’t paid within 5 days. After that you may file a special detainer (33-1368(B)).
- Material lease violation: 10 days to remedy, or the lease terminates (33-1368(A)).
- Violation of tenant duties that materially affects health and safety: 5 days to remedy (33-1368(A)).
- A second violation of the same or a similar nature during the lease: you may file 10 days after a written notice saying so, with no new cure period (33-1368(A)).
- Material falsification on the application, such as the number of occupants, income or criminal and eviction history: not curable (33-1368(A)).
- Material and irreparable breach on the premises, such as illegal discharge of a weapon, unlawful drug manufacturing, sale or possession, assault, criminal street gang activity or imminent serious property damage: immediate termination notice (33-1368(A)).
- End of a month-to-month tenancy: written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date; 10 days for week-to-week (33-1375).
Delivering the notice and the tenant’s right to reinstate
Hand delivery is cleanest. Under A.R.S. 33-1313(B), a notice sent by registered or certified mail is deemed received on the day the tenant actually gets it or five days after mailing, whichever comes first. Mail a 5-day notice and you may wait up to 10 days before you can file.
Arizona builds the right to cure into stages. Before you file, the lease is reinstated if the tenant pays all past-due rent and a reasonable late fee set out in a written lease. After you file, reinstatement requires past-due rent, late fees, attorney fees and court costs. After judgment, reinstatement is your call alone (33-1368(B)). A tenant also can’t withhold rent for any reason the act doesn’t authorize.
Filing the special detainer and serving the summons
Most residential evictions are filed in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits; superior court also hears them. The summons issues the day you file and commands the tenant to appear and answer at a trial not more than six nor less than three days from the date of the summons (33-1377(B)).
The summons must be served at least two days before the return day, which is the trial date. If personal service is attempted and fails, you can post the summons on the main entrance within one day of issuance and send it by certified mail the same day. The tenant is then deemed served three days after mailing, and that service supports a money judgment for rent, damages, costs and fees.
Trial, judgment and the fast track
At trial the court decides possession and can award rent, late charges in the lease, damages, attorney fees and costs (33-1377(D) and (F)). A trial can be postponed for good cause shown by affidavit, by no more than three days in justice court or five in superior court (33-1377(C)).
For a material and irreparable breach, the trial must be set no later than the third day after filing. If the court finds the breach by a preponderance of the evidence, it orders restitution not less than 12 nor more than 24 hours later (33-1377(E)). Use this track only when the facts fit; the ordinary nonpayment case doesn’t qualify.
The writ of restitution and lockout
No writ of restitution can issue until five calendar days after judgment, and once issued it must be enforced as promptly and expeditiously as possible. A motion to set aside the judgment doesn’t delay it unless a judge finds good cause (12-1178(C)). In justice court cases, a constable typically carries out the writ.
A tenant served with the writ who stays or comes back without your permission commits criminal trespass in the third degree (12-1178(D)). The day after the writ is executed, you may have landlord-provided utilities disconnected by the utility’s own personnel and must follow 33-1370’s rules for the tenant’s personal property (33-1368(D) and (E)).
Appeals and supersedeas bonds
Either side can appeal from justice court to superior court within five calendar days after judgment, and a motion to set aside doesn’t extend that time (12-1179(A)). The appealing party files a bond for costs, or an affidavit of inability to pay that you can contest.
An appeal doesn’t stop the lockout by itself. To stay possession, the tenant must post a supersedeas bond covering rent from judgment to the next rental date, plus costs and fees, and then pay each month’s rent to the justice court clerk while the appeal is pending (12-1179(C) and (D)). A missed payment lets you seek the writ.
Self-help lockouts and retaliation
Changing the locks or cutting power, gas or water to force a tenant out lets the tenant recover possession or end the lease and collect up to two months’ rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, under A.R.S. 33-1367. You’d also return the recoverable deposit.
A.R.S. 33-1381 bars filing or threatening an eviction because a tenant complained to a code agency or to you about conditions, or joined a tenants’ union. A complaint within six months before your action creates a presumption of retaliation, unless the tenant complained after receiving a termination notice. You can still evict a tenant who is in default in rent.
Federal rules: CARES Act notice and SCRA
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains and courts have split on whether it still applies. At a covered building, serving 30 days is the safer course, even though Arizona’s own notice is 5.
Before a default judgment, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3931, requires an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in military service.
Arizona eviction timeline at a glance
These are the statutory minimums in calendar days for a nonpayment case. A postponement or appeal adds time.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Notice for unpaid rent | 5 calendar days | A.R.S. 33-1368(B), (G) |
| Mailed notice received | Actual receipt or 5 days after mailing | A.R.S. 33-1313(B) |
| Trial date | 3 to 6 days from the summons | A.R.S. 33-1377(B) |
| Service of summons | At least 2 days before trial | A.R.S. 33-1377(B) |
| Postponement | Up to 3 days in justice court | A.R.S. 33-1377(C) |
| Writ of restitution | Not before 5 calendar days after judgment | A.R.S. 12-1178(C) |
| Appeal to superior court | 5 calendar days after judgment | A.R.S. 12-1179(A) |
Worked example: one unit in a 16-unit Phoenix building
Assume a $1,450 unit in a 16-unit Phoenix building, with rent due Thursday, April 1, 2027. You hand-deliver the 5-day notice Friday, April 2, and it runs through Wednesday, April 7. You file Thursday, April 8. Three days from the summons lands on a Sunday, so assume trial Monday, April 12, with the tenant served before Saturday, April 10. You win, the five calendar days run through Saturday, April 17, the writ issues Monday, April 19, and the constable executes it Tuesday, April 20.
That’s 19 days from the missed rent to possession. The daily rent is about $47.67 ($1,450 × 12 ÷ 365), so lost rent comes to $905.75. Add an assumed $750 attorney fee and an assumed $400 for filing, service and the writ, and the minimum cost is $2,055.75. Mail the notice by certified mail instead and up to five more days can be added at the front.
Alternatives, and selling an occupied building mid-case
Because a tenant can reinstate before filing by paying rent and the written late fee, a short payment plan settled in writing can end the matter quickly. Cash for keys, paying a tenant to leave by a set date in a signed agreement, can make sense where a tenant has a defense that would stretch the case.
You can sell with an eviction pending. The buyer takes the building subject to the leases and the landlord’s rights, including the open case, and deposits follow the landlord’s interest. Disclose every notice and filing, and expect tenant estoppel certificates.
Selling your Arizona apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Arizona, occupied and as-is, including buildings with problem tenants or pending special detainer cases. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
