On Wednesday, the Arizona House passed in a bipartisan vote, the Truth In Renting bill, sponsored by Rep. Pam Powers-Hannley.
“My landlord fee transparency bill HB2573 (Truth in Renting) passed the House today! 58-0-1-1. Many thanks to Rep. Weninger for hearing it in Commerce Committee, to the committee for passing it, and to the House members for passing it,” Powers Hannley posted in a Facebook message. “I proposed this bill originally in 2020 because I realized when I started renting apartments in Phoenix that renting had changed dramatically since I was a renter and since I was a landlady. There are many hidden fees. Sometimes renters don’t know all of the charges until they have signed the lease. Rents are high. When renters are socked with hidden fees, it can contribute to evictions. I’m glad this simple transparency bill is moving forward with strong bipartisan support.”
HB2573 requires the disclosure of additional fees by landlords and constitutes housing assistance payments as partial payments of rent.
According to the House overview, “Under current law, a landlord is not required to accept a partial payment of rent or other charges; however, accepting a partial payment of rent retains the landlord’s right to proceed against the tenant only if the tenant agrees in a contemporaneous writing to the terms and conditions of the partial payment with regard to continuation of the tenancy. A landlord’s acceptance of a housing assistance payment does not constitute an acceptance of a partial payment of rent or a waiver of a landlord’s right to terminate the rental agreement for any breach by the tenant (A.R.S. § 33-1371).
The bill is now headed to the Senate where it will likely pass.