Arizona leasehold statutes

Leasehold Tenure

Arizona real estate law is based upon English common law where this form of tenure has a long history. Under the common principles adopted in Arizona once a lease is assigned to a lessee, title to the improved building lot is divided into a present and future interest. These interests are described below:

  • §33.201. It is an “Estate in possession” in which the lessee has “immediate right to possession of the land.” ARS ESTATES §33.203.
  • As provided in the Arizona Revised Statutes, the lessor’s future interest is the type of “expectancy” classified as a “reversion“ — “it is the residue of an estate left in a grantor [lessor] or his heirs, or in the heirs of a testator, commencing in possession upon the determination of a particular estate granted or devised.” ARS ESTATES §33.204.