Surprise, AZ Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

§ 33-1902. An owner who lives outside Arizona must additionally designate and record with the assessor a statutory agent who resides in the state and can accept legal service on the owner's behalf; that designation follows the format the county assessor sets. Section 105-99(C) makes registration a precondition of occupancy: a residential rental cannot be occupied at all if the required information is not on file with the assessor. All registration records, files and documents filed under this section are public records under § 105-99(D).

Failing to comply with any part of the registration requirement is a civil infraction carrying a civil penalty under § 105-99(E), but § 105-99(F) gives owners a safe harbor: if the owner complies within ten days after receiving the complaint noticing the violation, the municipal court must dismiss the complaint and cannot impose the civil penalty. Section 105-99(G) preserves the city's ability to pursue criminal prosecution for a registration violation in addition to civil penalties. Because Article III's general enforcement provisions apply, an unregistered rental can also expose the owner to the misdemeanor penalty in § 105-96 and, per § 105-108, put the owner's business license at risk of denial, suspension or revocation for operating in violation of city ordinance.