tenancy-rules covid-19
Recourse against landlord entering home during COVID outbreak?
<p>My wife and I are moving out of our current rental in a couple of weeks.  Our landlord stated in a text this morning that he can show our house to potential new renters with 24 hours notice, even though we asked him to wait until we have moved out -- my wife has asthma, and we're in the upswing of a global pandemic.  </p>

<p>We live in Arizona.  Are there any state or federal laws, or executive orders, that allow us to keep our landlord out until we've left?</p>

<p><a href="https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01343.htm" rel="noreferrer">ARS 33-1343</a> allows the landlord to show the place, with two days notice. None of the <a href="https://azgovernor.gov/executive-orders" rel="noreferrer">executive orders</a> suspend this aspect of the law: the eviction order is directed at law enforcement, and orders a temporary delay in enforcement of eviction orders. The governor does not have clear constitutional or statutory authority to suspend all or part of ARS 33-1343. The <a href="https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/files/declaraton_0.pdf" rel="noreferrer">initial declaration of emergency</a> lists the various statutory authorities, such as <a href="https://www.azleg.gov/ars/36/00787.htm" rel="noreferrer">ARS 36-787</a>. In order to suspend the landlord access law, the legislative would have to enact a new law, which the governor would have to sign into law. There is no applicable federal order, and any such order would be of dubious constitutionality (landlord-tenant laws are a state matter, not a federal matter).</p>

<p>There's the  Warranty of Habitability principle, which says that every lease implicitly guarantees that the property will be suitable for habitation, and having random people traipsing about during a pandemic does arguably impair the habitability. There's also the Americans with Disabilities Act, which says that people with disabilities can ask for reasonable accommodations. It's difficult to see what argument there can be that limiting tours to video isn't a reasonable accommodation. At the very least, you should demand that all visitors wear face masks and gloves. You might also want to ask your landlord to consider how much upside there is to letting people walk through the apartment, versus the downside of a wrongful death suit.</p>
