All owners (and occupants) of residential rental
property in Arizona should be aware that Arizona
law requires residential rental owners to register
their property with the County Assessor in the county
where the property is located. The apparent purpose
of the law, aside from ensuring that the property
is taxed at the rental property rate, is to make
it easier for tenants or neighbors of substandard
residential rental properties to seek remedies against
the owners of such properties. The law also provides
for penalties for failure to register, as well as
penalties that can be imposed upon owners of substandard
(or "slum" as defined in the law) residential
properties.
Most of the information required for the registration
is already public information, either in the County
Assessor's property tax records or the records of
the Arizona Corporation Commission. For example,
the Assessor's property tax records already contain
the names and addresses of property owners. The
names and addresses of statutory agents for corporations
and limited liability companies qualified to do
business in Arizona are maintained by the Arizona
Corporation Commission. However, that information
must now be supplied to the Assessor on the Assessor's
form for this purpose. In addition, previously non-public
information must be supplied such as: the property
owner's telephone number; if the owner is a corporation
or limited liability company, the telephone number
of the owner's statutory agent; if the owner is
a partnership, the name of a general partner; and
if the owner lives outside of Arizona, the name,
address, and telephone number of an agent living
in the state who will accept delivery of legal documents
on behalf of the owner.
The requirement that out-of-state owners designate
an in-state agent apparently applies to both individuals
and non-Arizona entities such as corporations, limited
liability companies, and partnerships. Any non-Arizona
corporation or limited liability company that has
qualified to do business in Arizona already has
a statutory agent in Arizona, but will apparently
be required to register that agent with the County
Assessor.
One other item of information that is required
for the registration that an owner may not know
is the year the building was built. The most likely
source for this information is the County Assessor's
records, which typically include the year built
as part of the data used to determine the valuation
of the property.
The penalties for noncompliance with the registration
law are a civil penalty of $1,000 plus an additional
$100 for each month after the date of the original
violation until compliance occurs. The penalty is
waived, however, if the owner registers the property
within ten days after receiving notice of violation.
The law also provides that the property shall not
be occupied if the required information is not provided
to the County Assessor. The registration must be
updated within ten days after any change in the
required information occurs.
The law states that the required information shall
be provided to the County Assessor "in a manner
to be determined by the assessor." The Pima
County Assessor and the Maricopa County Assessor
have each posted residential rental registration
forms on their respective web sites.
The law requiring registration of residential rental
properties has been in effect since August, 1999.
Residential properties acquired as rentals and residential
properties converted from owner occupancy to rental
occupancy, must be registered regardless of the
date of acquisition or conversion.
