Written by Chris Rogers, Managing Attorney of Scott Clark Law
Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a number of rulings from the Courts in Arizona regarding the CARES Act. There were two separate rulings from the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County. The rulings confirmed what our position has been in Maricopa County for some time when it comes to the 30-day notice requirement contained in the CARES Act. In one of the rulings Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that landlords are permitted to utilize a normal 5-day notice process, file an eviction action, and seek the writ 30 days after the notice was originally given if the property is subject to the CARES Act. This ruling was the result of an appeal won by the Law Offices of Scott M. Clark, P.C. For some time, we have been facing challenges from tenant firms and Community Legal Services regarding this issue. In Pima County they have found judges sympathetic to their arguments. Those arguments were that if the property is subject to the CARES Act, the landlord must use a specific 30-day CARES Act notice and cannot file the eviction action with the court until the full 30 days has expired (35 days if notice was sent certified, which accounts for service). The Maricopa Superior Court has disagreed with the Pima Superior Court, and we can indeed file on a non-payment case once the 5 days expires, regardless of whether the property is subject to the CARES Act or not. Only the writ date is affected.
The third ruling is the is the most exciting and effectively puts an end to the CARES Act in Arizona. The Arizona Court of Appeals Division Two ruled in a Special Action Proceeding that the CARES Act 30-day notice requirement only applied during the 120-day period beginning on March 27, 2020, during the “Temporary Moratorium on Eviction Filings.” The Court of Appeals with this ruling essentially ends any CARES Act requirements on Landlords.
The Law Offices of Scott M. Clark, P.C., believes this precedent ends any requirements on landlords that the CARES Act imposed. Moving forward we recommend honoring any 30-day CARES Act Notices you have already served to tenants. Beginning on July 1, 2026, we recommend our clients serve the 5-day nonpay notice that was used prior to the pandemic regardless of whether your property was subject to the CARES Act.
Please, if you have any questions, reach out to our office and we would be happy to speak with you.
