How to Fill Out and Serve an Arizona Notice of Abandonment

An Arizona notice of abandonment is the written notice a landlord mails and posts under ARS § 33-1370 to declare a rental abandoned, start a five-day waiting period, and then lawfully retake the unit.¹ The notice itself is simple. The procedure around it is where landlords get into trouble, so work through each step before you touch the door.

When a Rental Legally Counts as Abandoned

Arizona recognizes two separate abandonment scenarios, and which one applies depends on whether the tenant’s belongings are still inside.

Belongings still in the unit: the tenant has been absent without notice for at least seven days, rent has been unpaid for at least ten days, and there is no reasonable evidence of continued occupancy other than the presence of those belongings.
No belongings in the unit: the tenant has been absent for at least five days and rent has been unpaid for at least five days.

That phrase “no reasonable evidence of continued occupancy” matters. Furniture and clothes alone do not prove someone still lives there. Before you declare abandonment on the first scenario, look for other signs of life: lights, recent mail pickup, vehicle activity, neighbor reports of contact. If the only thing suggesting the tenant hasn’t moved out is their stuff sitting inside, that alone won’t block the process.¹

What the Notice Has to Say

The statute doesn’t dictate exact wording, but the notice has to communicate specific facts clearly enough to survive a challenge. Include:

The date of the notice, which anchors the five-day waiting period.
The complete rental address, including unit number.
Every tenant name listed on the lease.
Which of the two statutory scenarios applies, with the number of days the tenant has been absent and the number of days rent has been unpaid.
A clear statement that you consider the property abandoned under ARS § 33-1370.
Your name and phone number, and the deadline for the tenant to respond (five days after posting and mailing).
A statement that if the tenant doesn’t respond, you will retake possession and handle any remaining belongings under the statute.

Most landlords use a form with checkboxes for the two scenarios, a space for contact details, and a line for the deadline. Check the tenant names and address against the lease before you print it. A typo in either can give a court a reason to invalidate the notice.

Mailing and Posting

Arizona requires dual delivery. You have to do both:

Send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the tenant’s last known address and any alternate addresses you have from the lease or correspondence.
Post a copy on the front door of the unit or another conspicuous spot on the property.

The five-day clock begins only after both steps are done. Mail it Monday and post it Wednesday, and the clock starts Wednesday. Keep the certified mail receipt and take a dated photo of the posted notice. That’s your proof of compliance if the process is ever disputed.¹

If the tenant contacts you during the five-day window and says they haven’t abandoned the unit, the basis for the notice falls away. At that point you’re back to the standard remedies for unpaid rent, like a five-day pay-or-quit notice under ARS § 33-1368, rather than pursuing abandonment.

Retaking the Unit and Keeping the Deposit

Once five days have passed from the later of the mailing or posting, you can reenter, change the locks, and start preparing the unit for a new tenant. If no belongings remain inside, that’s the end of the physical process. If belongings are still there, you can retake possession but you now owe the tenant the personal property procedures below before you can rerent.

The security deposit is forfeited upon abandonment. The statute directs you to apply it to accrued rent and other reasonable costs caused by the abandonment.¹ You don’t have to wait for the tenant to ask for it back before applying it.

Handling Belongings Left Behind

If the tenant’s property is still in the unit when you retake it, the statute imposes a structured process. Skip steps here and you create real liability.

Prepare a written inventory of everything left behind. Be specific. List individual items, not “boxes of stuff.” That inventory is your defense if the tenant later claims something went missing or was damaged. Then send a second notice to the tenant using the same dual method, stating where you’re storing the property and what the storage is costing.¹

You must hold the property for fourteen calendar days after retaking the unit, using reasonable care in moving and storing it. Perishable items, plants, and animals are exempt from the storage requirement and follow different rules.

Animals

Pets need faster attention than furniture. First, contact anyone the tenant authorized to retrieve the animal (landlords should have this information if the tenant designated an emergency pet contact under ARS § 33-1314). That person has one calendar day to pick up the animal. If no one comes, you can release it to a shelter or boarding facility, and you should keep a record of where it went. If you keep the animal on site during the fourteen-day hold, you have to provide food, water, and appropriate conditions. A landlord who can’t or won’t care for the animal can contact the county enforcement agent or local animal control to have it seized. The statute shields landlords from liability for good-faith action on abandoned animals.

When the Tenant Wants Their Things Back

A tenant who contacts you in writing before you sell or dispose of their belongings has five days to reclaim them, but they have to pay your actual removal and storage costs first. You aren’t required to release anything until those costs are paid. Once the tenant makes a written offer to pay, you have five days to turn the property over. Keep every receipt for moving and storage so you can document the amount if challenged.

Selling or Donating What’s Left

If fourteen calendar days pass after you retook the unit and the tenant hasn’t made a reasonable effort to recover their belongings, you can sell the property or donate it to a qualifying charitable organization.¹

Sale proceeds get applied in a set order: first to the tenant’s outstanding rent, then to other costs allowed under the lease or by statute, which can include storage, cleaning, and damage to the unit. Anything left over has to be mailed to the tenant at their last known address. Don’t keep the surplus. Document the sale, the amount received, each deduction, and whatever you remit to the tenant.

Your Duty to Re-Rent

Abandonment doesn’t end the tenant’s financial obligation for the rest of the lease term automatically, but it does trigger a duty to mitigate. You have to make reasonable efforts to find a replacement tenant at a fair rate. If you relet before the original lease expires, the old lease ends on the date the new tenancy begins.¹

If you don’t make reasonable efforts, or if you accept the abandonment as a surrender, the lease terminates as of the date you learned about the abandonment. For a month-to-month tenancy, damages are capped at one rental period. You can’t let the unit sit empty for months and then chase the former tenant for the whole vacancy. List the unit promptly, keep records of your marketing, and save any showings or applications. That paper trail is what proves mitigation if you later pursue the former tenant for the gap between what they owed and what the new tenant pays.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-1370 – Abandonment; Notice; Remedies; Personal Property; Definition