In Arizona, the 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the pressure point where most nonpayment situations either get fixed quickly—or turn into a court case. But with Section 8 rentals, landlords can’t treat nonpayment like a normal market-rate lease, because the rent is usually split between the tenant and the housing authority.
This guest post is a practical, “do it right the first time” guide: what the 5-day notice is supposed to accomplish, how to serve it (hand delivery vs. certified/registered mail), what paperwork you should have ready, and what happens after the deadline—whether you file yourself or hand it to a lawyer.
The 5-day notice is not the eviction. It’s your proof you gave a cure opportunity.
Think of the notice as your documentation that you gave the tenant a fair chance to fix the problem. It typically does three things:
- States the default: rent wasn’t paid (or tenant-responsible rent wasn’t paid).
- States the cure: pay the correct amount within the notice period.
- States the consequence: if not cured, the landlord may proceed to court.
Landlords sometimes try to jump straight to “eviction.” Arizona procedure doesn’t work that way. The notice is what supports the next step: filing the court case.
The Section 8 rule that prevents most landlord mistakes: demand the tenant portion, not the full contract rent
In voucher rentals, the rent commonly comes from two sources:
- Tenant portion (what the tenant must pay under the lease)
- Assistance portion (HAP) (paid by the housing authority)
Here’s the big trap: a landlord gets frustrated, sees the full contract rent number, and writes a notice demanding the full amount. That’s where many disputes begin, because in most voucher setups the tenant is not responsible for the assistance portion.
Best practice (landlord): before you write the notice, confirm the tenant portion for the month(s) owed. Tenant portions can change after recertification, income changes, or household changes. If your demanded amount is wrong, everything after that gets slower and harder.
Best practice (tenant): if you receive a notice, check whether the amount equals your tenant portion. If it looks like the full contract rent, that’s a red flag and you should address it immediately.
Serving the notice: hand delivery vs. certified/registered mail (and why proof matters more than speed)
In real life, landlords usually choose a method that can be proven later. Two common approaches:
1) Hand delivery
Why landlords like it: it’s fast and clear when documented properly.
How to do it smarter:
- Use a delivery log: date/time, address, who received it (or how it was delivered).
- If the situation is tense, use a witness or a professional process server.
- Keep an exact copy of what was served.
2) Certified/registered mail
Why landlords like it: paper trail—receipt and tracking.
How to do it smarter:
- Keep the mailing receipt and tracking history.
- Keep a copy of the exact notice you mailed (same version).
- Expect the timeline to be longer than hand delivery in many cases.
The landlord mindset that wins in court: “I can prove what I served, when I served it, and what the tenant was required to do.”
What a strong Arizona 5-day notice includes (especially for voucher rentals)
A clean, court-friendly notice usually has:
- Tenant full legal name(s) + unit address
- Date of the notice
- Amount demanded from the tenant (not the assistance portion)
- A simple breakdown (recommended):
- tenant portion owed by month
- any prior tenant balance (if applicable)
- late fee only if your written lease clearly allows it and you calculate it consistently
- Clear instructions for paying (who/where/how)
- Clear “pay or vacate” language
- Landlord/agent signature and contact info
- A service section (hand delivered / certified mail, dates, tracking number)
If you want a workflow that helps you avoid missing fields, many landlords complete, sign, and download their paperwork online using PDFmigo. And if you need the actual fill-and-sign form, here it is: Arizona 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent (Notice for Failure to Pay Rent).
Counting the days: the fastest way to lose time is filing early
This is where landlords get burned. The court cares about one simple question: Did you wait until the notice period ended before filing?
Practical habit: make a one-page timeline sheet for every nonpayment file:
- Notice date
- Service method
- Receipt/served date (and any mailing details)
- Day-by-day count through the cure period
- Earliest filing date (after the cure period ends)
If you aren’t 100% confident in your count, many landlords give themselves a small buffer rather than risk an early filing that causes delays.
What happens after the 5 days: landlord files the eviction or turns it over to a lawyer
Once the cure window expires without full payment or move-out, the landlord typically has two choices:
Option A: Landlord files the eviction (self-represented)
This is most common when:
- the tenant portion owed is crystal clear
- the notice is clean and itemized
- service proof is strong
- the ledger is organized
- there are no side disputes (credits, habitability claims, confusing recertification timing)
Option B: Landlord hands the file to an attorney
This is common when:
- the tenant disputes the amount
- service timing is complicated
- partial payments were made
- the landlord wants to reduce “technical error” risk
- the case involves multiple issues (nonpayment + other violations)
Real-world truth: attorneys don’t shorten the 5-day cure window, but they often prevent mistakes that force landlords to restart the process.
Section 8 overlay: don’t ignore program paperwork expectations
Voucher tenancies are state law + program rules. While Arizona law controls the eviction procedure, voucher rules often require extra documentation steps (for example, providing copies of notices or filings to the housing authority depending on local program practice).
Landlord best practice: treat the housing authority like a stakeholder:
- keep the rent-split ledger clean
- document tenant portion verification
- keep copies of what you sent and when
This alone can reduce confusion and sometimes helps resolve issues before court.
A “court-ready” checklist landlords should have before filing
If you want speed, build a file that tells a simple story:
- Signed lease + addendums
- Ledger that separates:
- tenant portion billed
- tenant payments received
- late fees (if allowed)
- assistance/HAP payments (separate from tenant debt)
- Copy of the served 5-day notice
- Proof of service (delivery log or certified mail receipt/tracking)
- Receipts for payments received (if any)
- Proof of the tenant’s correct portion for the months owed (to prevent “wrong amount” defenses)
What tenants should do immediately after receiving the notice
If you’re a voucher tenant and you receive a 5-day notice:
- Verify the amount (does it match your tenant portion?)
- Gather proof (receipts, bank statements, money order stubs)
- Communicate in writing (simple, calm, dated messages)
- Contact your housing authority/caseworker quickly if the amount is wrong or your portion changed
- Cure fast if you can—because once a court case is filed, costs and consequences can rise
Final takeaway
Arizona’s 5-day notice is simple on paper, but voucher rentals reward precision. If you do three things well—(1) demand the correct tenant-responsible amount, (2) serve it with provable documentation, and (3) track the timeline carefully—you dramatically increase the odds that the situation resolves quickly, whether by payment, move-out, or a clean next step in court.