Can a landlord retaliate against a tenant for complaining in Arizona?

No. In Arizona, a landlord may not retaliate by raising the rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an eviction after a tenant complains to a code agency or to the landlord or joins a tenants’ union, and a complaint within six months before the landlord’s action creates a presumption of retaliation. The presumption does not arise if the complaint came after a notice ending the tenancy, and a tenant who is behind on rent may still be evicted. Separately, the federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to threaten or interfere with anyone for exercising fair housing rights. This is A.R.S. § 33-1381.

WhatArizona
Retaliation by a landlordProhibited by statute
Time period in the statutePresumed within 6 months
How the period worksRetaliation is presumed if the landlord acts within it

Source

A.R.S. § 33-1381

Read the statute in the Arizona Revised Statutes (Arizona Legislature): azleg.gov.

Checked against the statute on October 23, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

When an owner prepares an eviction in Seayora, it lists any repair request opened on the unit in the last 180 days that is still open, not to stop the case but because the tenant will raise retaliation and the owner should have an answer. Every repair request keeps the date it was filed.

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