Arizona Eviction Notice
Arizona eviction notice: the 5-day pay-or-quit and 10-day cure-or-quit notice rules under A.R.S. Section 33-1368. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Before an Arizona landlord can file a lawsuit to remove a tenant, state law requires a written notice first, and this page is that fillable notice itself, not a general walkthrough of how eviction law works in the state. Which version applies turns on the reason for eviction. Fall behind on rent, and the notice period is 5 days to pay or quit. Breach a lease term that can be fixed, other than nonpayment, and the tenant gets 10 days to cure or quit. Let that same kind of breach cross into materially affecting health and safety, and the cure window shrinks instead of growing, dropping to 5 days rather than the general 10, a split most states don't draw this precisely. Every one of those counts runs in calendar days, not court or business days, a rule Arizona's statute states outright rather than leaving open to interpretation. (A.R.S. Section 33-1368(G)) Most states call the resulting court case an "unlawful detainer" action. Arizona doesn't: its statute names it a special detainer action, filed under A.R.S. Section 33-1377, with the notice on this page, required by Section 33-1368, standing as the mandatory step before that filing can happen. Two situations skip the cure period entirely. Let a tenant repeat a violation of the same or similar kind after already fixing one once, and the landlord may skip straight to a 10-day notice to move with no second chance offered. Or let the breach be both material and irreparable, weapons discharge, assault, gang activity, drug crimes, or serious property damage among the examples the statute lists, and the landlord may serve notice for immediate termination and proceed straight to filing. The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Arizona Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10, Sections 33-1301 through 33-1381, is the law behind every notice type on this page. Whichever type applies, the notice itself has to spell out the acts and omissions making up the breach and the date the rental agreement terminates if the tenant doesn't remedy it in time.
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Key Things to Know
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Arizona law treats this written notice as a required first step, not a courtesy: a landlord must serve it before ever filing a special detainer action, Arizona's version of an eviction lawsuit, under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, A.R.S. Title 33, Chapter 10, Sections 33-1301 to 33-1381.
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Most states use the term "unlawful detainer" for the court case that follows a failed notice. Arizona doesn't. Its statute calls the lawsuit a special detainer action, and A.R.S. Section 33-1368 makes this notice the required first step before a landlord can file one under Section 33-1377.
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Fall behind on rent, and Section 33-1368(B) gives the tenant 5 calendar days after written notice to pay before a landlord can file.
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A lease violation other than nonpayment, an unauthorized pet or occupant, for example, counts as a "material noncompliance," and the tenant gets 10 calendar days to fix it and keep the lease. (A.R.S. Section 33-1368(A))
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That same 10-day window narrows to 5 calendar days when the violation materially affects health and safety; Arizona treats this as its own separate, shorter cure track rather than folding it into the general rule. (A.R.S. Section 33-1368(A), referencing tenant duties under Section 33-1341)
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No cure period applies in two situations. Once a tenant has already fixed one violation, a repeat of the same or similar kind lets the landlord move straight to a 10-day notice to move with no second chance offered. And a "material and irreparable breach", weapons discharge, assault, gang activity, drug crimes, serious property damage, and similar acts, lets the landlord serve notice for immediate termination instead. (A.R.S. Section 33-1368(A))
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Delivery has to be in hand or by registered or certified mail; Arizona law doesn't recognize posting the notice on the door as valid service for this pre-filing notice. No statute assigns it a specific form number, but it does have to state the acts and omissions making up the breach along with the termination date. (A.R.S. Section 33-1313; Section 33-1368(A))
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Arizona, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Arizona Requirements for Eviction Notice
Notice Period for General Lease Violations (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1368(A))
10 calendar days to remedy a material noncompliance with the rental agreement other than nonpayment of rent or a health-and-safety issue, such as an unauthorized pet or occupant. The landlord's written notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and the termination date if not remedied within 10 days.
No Statute-Numbered Mandatory Form, Required Content (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1368(A))
There is no single fill-in-the-blank form prescribed by number in the Arizona Revised Statutes for the pre-filing notice itself, though Arizona's court self-help system publishes matching notice templates for each notice type. Specific content is legally required: the notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state the date the rental agreement will terminate if not remedied within the applicable period.
Service of Notice Requirements (A.R.S. § 33-1313)
Notice must be delivered in hand to the tenant, or sent by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated address or last known place of residence. If mailed, the tenant is deemed to have received the notice on the date actually received or 5 days after mailing, whichever occurs first. Arizona law does not authorize posting the notice on the door as a method of serving this pre-filing termination notice.
Governing Landlord-Tenant Statute (Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Arizona Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10, Sections 33-1301 to 33-1381)
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Arizona Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10, Sections 33-1301 through 33-1381. The resulting eviction lawsuit is called a special detainer action under Section 33-1377, not unlawful detainer.
Notice Period for Health and Safety Violations (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1368(A); Section 33-1341)
A shorter 5 calendar days to remedy a tenant noncompliance with maintenance duties under Section 33-1341 that materially affects health and safety, distinct from the 10-day general lease-violation track. If the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement does not terminate.
Notice Period for Nonpayment of Rent (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1368(B))
5 calendar days after written notice by the landlord of nonpayment and intent to terminate if the rent is not paid within that period. Days are calendar days, not business days, per Section 33-1368(G). Before a special detainer action is filed, the rental agreement is reinstated if the tenant tenders all past-due rent and any reasonable late fee set forth in a written rental agreement.
No-Cure Notice for Repeat Violations and Material and Irreparable Breach (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-1368(A))
Two situations skip the cure period entirely: a repeat violation of the same or similar kind after a prior cure lets the landlord give a 10-day notice to move with no second chance to fix it, and a breach that is both material and irreparable, such as weapons discharge, homicide, prostitution, criminal street gang activity, drug offenses, threatening or intimidating conduct, assault, nuisance, or serious property damage, lets the landlord serve notice for immediate termination and proceed straight to a special detainer action.