I am a residential landlord, but I have also been a residential and a commercial tenant. Furthermore, as an attorney, I have represented many tenants (and landlords). I have heard and made arguments for both sides. I have written the Tenant's Survival Guide from the tenant's point of view. What this means to you is that the recommendations contained herein are intended to protect and benefit you, the tenant.

A thorough knowledge of the law provides a tenant with an enormous advantage, but not all tenants have the time and/or inclination to dedicate their lives to the study of landlord/tenant law. Consequently, the Tenant's Survival Guide was written to give you: (1) a general working knowledge of landlord/tenant law, in a short period of time; and (2) a detailed source book for the times when you need a detailed answer to a specific question. Toward that end, the entire text of the latest version of the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and the forcible detainer statutes are included in the book.

Arizona law clearly favors tenants, not landlords. Nevertheless, not all tenants know the law and not all landlords follow the law (either intentionally or unintentionally). The Tenant's Survival Guide will tell you the law in Arizona as it applies to landlords and tenants. This book will tell you what your landlord can do under the law and, more importantly, what s/he cannot do under the law. The Tenant's Survival Guide will also tell you what you can and cannot do under the law. The Tenant's Survival Guide will explain what to do when your landlord fails to perform his/her contractual obligations (i.e., repair the unit, keep the premises safe, provide utilities, etc.) and will tell you what your rights and remedies are in each instance. This book will also inform you what you may (or must) do when your landlord attempts to terminate your lease or evict you.

The Tenant's Survival Guide, however, goes far beyond a mindless narration of Arizona law -- it will give you "real world," practical advice. Remember, I am a landlord. As a landlord, I recognize, and so should you, that being a landlord is a business. The law is only one factor that a landlord/businessman considers when making a business decision. Therefore, in addition to the law, this book will discuss some vitally important practical solutions that oftentimes yield more desirable results than the "legal" solution. For example, take the all-too-typical scenario where the tenant is two months into his one-year lease and, for whatever reason, wants to terminate the lease and move. The legal solutions are clear: (1) do not terminate until the end of the lease; or (2) terminate and face the consequences (i.e., landlord may sue you for rent due until the end of the lease or until s/he re-rents it). The practical solution is to offer the landlord some amount of money (i.e., $100, $200, $300, or more, depending on your facts) in exchange for a complete release of liability. This has the distinct advantage of limiting your liability (not to mention that you will not have to lose any sleep over whether or not your landlord will be "chasing you down" to garnish your bank accounts and/or wages), your credit will not be adversely affected, and, more importantly, you will probably be able to use this landlord as a reference -- many advantages for payment of a nominal sum.

The foregoing recommendation, and others included in this book, cannot be found in any law book. The foregoing example, however, is typical of the practical recommendations made throughout the Tenant's Survival Guide. They are practical solutions -- the product of years of experience, both mine and my clients'. Prepare yourself -- you are about to discover a plethora of sensible solutions to your most common problems.

For more information, contact:

Carlton C. Casler
Consumer Law Books Publishing House
800-229-7686
CarlCasler@AOL.COM
http://www.ConsumerLawBooks.com/