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

Sec. 21-25 of the Rental Housing Code requires every owner of residential rental property in Tempe to maintain specific information with the Maricopa County Assessor: the owner's name, address and phone number; for an entity owner, a corporate officer, general partner, managing member or trustee as applicable; the property's street address and parcel number; and the year the building was built. Any change to that information must be updated within ten days. Out-of-state owners face an extra requirement: Sec. 21-25(b) says an owner who lives outside Arizona 'shall designate and record with the assessor an agent who lives in this State and who will accept legal service on behalf of the owner,' including that agent's name, address and phone number.

Sec. 21-25(c) ties occupancy directly to the filing: 'Residential rental property shall not be occupied if the information required by this section is not on file with the county assessor,' a rule that applies to existing leases and to any new lease signed after August 25, 2004. All the filed records are public under subsection (d). 00) for each month after the date of the original violation until compliance occurs,' a penalty the court cannot suspend any portion of. There is a narrow safe harbor in subsection (f): if the owner complies within ten days of receiving the complaint that flagged the violation, the court must dismiss the complaint and cannot impose any civil penalty at all.