The term “quit and holdover” is a staple of every lease agreement. As used in lease agreements, the term refers to the act of providing your intent as a tenant as to what you will do when the lease term expires - stay or vacate. Arizona law stipulates the notice period required to be given by tenants, and in all cases the tenant must provide 30 days’ written notice to the landlord. This is true whether the lease governs a fixed term agreement or a month-to-month agreement. Failure to provide proper notice will cause the lease to revert to a month-to-month agreement. In addition, the tenant’s continued possession of the rental unit after the original agreement has terminated and without the consent of the landlord will result in the rent to increase to double the monthly rental amount (e.g. holdover rent).
A landlord can never change the rent amount during the agreement term. However, the landlord can change the rent amount for a tenancy subsequent to the agreement term by providing 30 days written notice to the tenant of the change. A common occurrence of this type of rent change is the landlord providing notice that the rent will increase for the next year of the tenancy, should the tenant renew the lease. By providing 30 days notice to the tenant the tenant can make the decision to stay, or “quit” and find another rental.
