Landlords, tenants the topic of free informational clinic
Whether you rent to others or are a renter yourself, if you have questions about your rights, responsibilities or obligations, Fridays Landlord/Tenant Informational Clinic may be able to provide the answers you need.
The clinic, which is free and open to the public, is being held from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Jury Assembly Room at the Yuma Justice Center, which is located at 250 W. 2nd St.
The Yuma County Superior Court developed the clinic in support of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Strategic Agenda to increase access to the courts and is being offered by the Law Library.
Held in collaboration with Community Legal Services, the clinic is one of a series of six public sessions to provide self-represented litigants with information to help them navigate the legal system.
There is currently a large number of litigants with cases in Yuma County Superior Court, who are representing themselves. Court officials say that number is likely to increase in the future due to the rising cost of defending a legal action.
These clinics and informational forums provide a valuable service to the court system, according to officials, because self-represented litigants often have difficulty preparing and filing documents and meeting procedural requirements, which causes delays in their cases.
James Marshall, a senior counsel for Community Legal Services, will be the presenter at the clinic and will discuss a variety of topics, including the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA).
“Everyone has an opinion of what the law is, but so many of my clients and landlords don’t understand the very, very basic stuff of what they can and can’t do,” Marshall said. “I have never before seen the type of things that go on in here Yuma, as far as locking out tenants, shutting off the water, all of that kind of stuff.”
Other topics include leases and rental agreements, responsibilities of landlords, remedies for tenants of landlords who breach their responsibilities, obligations of tenants and remedies for landlords, the eviction process, after eviction rights, domestic violence in landlord/tenant case, and the Arizona Fair Housing Laws.
“There can be pretty serious repercussions for landlords for not taking care of things, such as not making a repair to essential services like electricity,” Marshall said. “A tenant can move out and maybe able get double damages in a lawsuit for the rent they paid while the repairs were not made.”
Whether you are renting or a landlord, Marshall said the most important advice he can give to both parties is to get everything in writing.
Marshall said he will have booklets for landlords available during the clinic and his agency has handbooks for tenants that cover their rights.
General questions will be answered following the clinic, but no specific legal advice will be given. An interpreter will also be available for those in attendance who don’t speak English.