Laws Enacted to Stop Courts from Regulating Landlords

The Arizona court bureaucracy has been attempting to regulate landlords in an indirect fashion for the last year by trying to impose mandatory notice and eviction forms on them. These forms include matters going beyond what the relevant statutes require. If successful the mandatory nature of the forms with these new requirements would be an indirect way of the courts legislating from the bench.

In our system of government, legislation and the setting of public policy is the responsibility of the legislature and separation of powers principles require that the judicial branch stay out of it.

Our firm has taken the lead in opposing these efforts. But every time we have pointed out the defects in what the courts are trying to do, the bureaucracy changes the forms and continues to press the issue. The revised forms are every bit as bad as the former versions and the fight has seemed to become endless.

Out of a sense of frustration, a bill was proposed this legislative session to try and stop the courts. AMA and MHCA were the primary supporters of the bill. Melissa Parham and Mike Parham helped draft it and Mark Zinman was the star witness testifying before legislative committees in favor of it. The bill, HB2237, amends every landlord tenant and eviction law to specifically prohibit the courts from mandating the use of forms when other forms work equally well.

Janna Day, the MHCA lobbyist was instrumental in getting this bill through and the efforts of the AMA and AAR lobbyists were equally important. This is an important example of why it is so important to support MHCA in its legislative efforts.