Willow and Hearth

Arizona now has a statute written for the person who finds a stranger living in a house they own. According to the Arizona Legislature’s session law page for Chapter 69, Senate Bill 1426 was approved by the Governor on May 29, 2026 and filed with the Secretary of State the same day.

The law changes two forcible entry and detainer statutes, sections 12 1171 and 12 1173 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Forcible detainer is the court action Arizona owners and landlords use to regain possession, and until now the text covered tenants and people who entered by force. Chapter 69 adds a new category for an unauthorized person who simply will not leave.

What the new rule says

Under new paragraph 3(b) of section 12 1173, a person is subject to forcible detainer if they refuse, after a reasonable request, to leave and give up possession, and if all nine listed conditions apply. The bill text, as the House engrossed version on azleg.gov shows, uses the words “if all of the following apply.” Every item has to be true.

The nine conditions are these. The person making the request is the property owner or the owner’s authorized agent. The property is a residential dwelling or used for residential purposes. An unauthorized person is unlawfully occupying it. The owner has directed that person to leave. The property was not open to the public when the person entered. The person is not a current or former tenant of the property. The person had no prior verbal or written agreement to live in the dwelling with the owner. The person is not the owner’s immediate family member. No litigation is pending between the owner and the person.

Why the speed matters

The second major change is in subsection B. According to the bill text, a writ of restitution must be issued immediately after the court signs any judgment against the unauthorized person. A writ of restitution is the court document that directs removal. The same subsection directs the Arizona Supreme Court to adopt rules allowing expeditious resolution of claims under the section.

The statute does not set a number of days for the case itself. It leaves that to the court rules the Supreme Court is told to adopt, so an owner should not expect a specific timeline from the statute alone.

What it does not change

The law does not touch landlord and tenant rights. Paragraph 3(c) says the new provision does not affect rights and remedies under Title 33, Chapter 10, the part of Arizona law that governs landlords and tenants. The condition that the occupant is not a current or former tenant also keeps a renter outside the new category. A tenant whose lease has ended is still handled under the existing tenancy paragraph of section 12 1173, with its own written demand rules.

Those older rules remain in place for people who entered by force or who hold possession from someone who did. They are described as five day written demand situations in the chapter text.

The chapter also does not define the word reasonable in a reasonable request to leave, and it does not state penalties. The chapter text on azleg.gov contains neither definitions nor penalties for the new paragraph.

When it takes effect

Chapter 69 states no effective date and no emergency clause. The Arizona Legislature’s general effective dates page lists September 12, 2026 as the general effective date for the Second Regular Session of the Fifty seventh Legislature. Because the chapter text gives no date of its own, confirm which date applies with the Legislature or an Arizona attorney.

Steps for an owner or buyer

The nine conditions work as a checklist, and the statute requires every one of them. Ownership, residential use, the owner’s direction to leave and the absence of pending litigation are facts a court would look at, so an owner may want the deed or closing documents and a dated written request to leave on hand. An Arizona attorney can say what a court will require.

The statute excludes a current or former tenant, so the tenant question comes first. If the occupant is or was a tenant, the new paragraph does not apply and the Title 33 landlord and tenant process governs. The same goes for anyone the owner agreed to let live there or who is an immediate family member.

Buyers closing on a vacant house should know the condition about pending litigation. If a case between the owner and the occupant is already open, the new paragraph is off the table for that person.

The chapter sets out a court action, so anyone dealing with an occupant should read the full chapter on azleg.gov and speak with an Arizona attorney or the clerk of the court where the property sits. This article describes what the chapter says and is not legal advice.

Renters in Arizona can read the same chapter to see what stays the same. The tenancy provisions and Title 33 remain the governing rules for a person with a lease or a month to month arrangement.