Tempe, AZ Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing office
- Community Development Director or designee
- Access standard
- Owner/agent/tenant must allow entry on reasonable notice
- If access refused
- City may obtain an inspection warrant
- Reoccupancy rule
- Barred until reinspected and found compliant
- Governing sections
- City Code §§ 21-24, 21-46
Summary
Tempe's Community Development Director inspects rental housing units under City Code Sec. 21-24 to check compliance with the Rental Housing Code's sanitary, electrical and safety standards. Owners, agents, managers and tenants must allow access on reasonable notice, and a unit found in violation cannot be reoccupied until it is reinspected and cleared.
(a)Personnel. The Community Development Director or designee is authorized to make reasonable and necessary inspections of rental housing units and premises to determine compliance with this article.(b)Access. Every owner, agent, manager or tenant of a rental housing unit shall, upon reasonable notice, allow access to any part of such rental housing unit at all reasonable times for the purpose of making such inspections. If the owner, agent, manager or tenant refuses access to make an inspection, the City is authorized to obtain an inspection warrant in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 34 of this Code.(c)Scope. An inspector may expand the scope of an inspection to include other City Code violations noted during the inspection.(d)Compliance. If upon inspection, violations of interior or exterior standards exist, the owner, agent or manager will be required to correct all violations within a reasonable period of time as determined by the inspector.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 21 of the general code creates a standing rental-housing inspection program run out of the Community Development Department. Under Sec. 21-24, the Director or a designee 'is authorized to make reasonable and necessary inspections of rental housing units and premises to determine compliance with this article,' and any owner, agent, manager or tenant must, 'upon reasonable notice,' allow access at all reasonable times. ' Inspectors are not limited to the rental-housing checklist either, since Sec. 21-24(c) lets an inspector 'expand the scope of an inspection to include other City Code violations noted during the inspection,' so a rental check can turn up unrelated code problems (drainage, junk vehicles, zoning) that get cited in the same visit.
When violations of the interior or exterior standards in Division 2 (Secs. 21-31 through 21-38, covering sanitary facilities, electrical, thermal, doors and windows, safety and maintenance) turn up, Sec. ' Sec. 21-46 reinforces this: an owner already served a notice to comply cannot dodge responsibility just because the tenant moved out, and cannot re-lease the unit until every cited violation is corrected. Enforcement runs through Article III (Secs. 21-41 through 21-49), which allows both civil citation and criminal misdemeanor prosecution for chapter violations.
Violations & Fines
Refusing an inspector access lets the City seek an inspection warrant under Chapter 34 rather than proceed on consent. A unit cited for interior or exterior violations must be corrected on the inspector's timeline; if it goes vacant before repairs are done, the owner cannot relet it until the City reinspects and clears it. Violations of the chapter can be charged civilly or as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Tempe inspect a rental without the owner's consent?
What happens if a rental fails inspection in Tempe?
Does moving out end the owner's compliance duty?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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