01. The Arizona eviction timeline (what happens before the cleanout)
By the time cleanout crews show up, the legal process is usually 3–6 weeks in. Understanding the sequence helps you schedule the haul on the right day — not a day early (illegal) and not a day late (money lost).
- 5-day notice for non-payment (ARS 33-1368) or 10-day notice for lease violation
- Complaint filed in Justice Court; hearing typically 6–10 days later
- Judgment for possession issued if landlord prevails
- Writ of restitution issued 5 calendar days after judgment (ARS 12-1178)
- Constable posts the writ and physically locks the tenant out — this is 'writ day'
- Landlord takes possession immediately after the lockout; cleanout can begin the same hour
02. ARS 33-1370: what you must do with the tenant's belongings
Arizona is one of the strictest states in the country on abandoned tenant property. ARS 33-1370 requires the landlord to inventory, store, and notify — even for evicted tenants. Skipping this is the #1 reason landlords get sued after a successful eviction.
- Inventory every item of apparent value before removal (room-by-room, photographed)
- Store items of value for at least 14 days from the date the tenant is notified in writing
- Send written notice to the tenant's last known address (and any known forwarding address) within a reasonable time
- After 14 days with no claim, items may be sold or disposed of; proceeds (minus storage costs) technically belong to the tenant
- Items with no apparent value (spoiled food, obvious trash, broken furniture, soiled mattresses) can be disposed of immediately with photo documentation
- Perishable and hazardous items (rotting food, medical waste, unsecured firearms, drugs) can be removed and disposed of same-day
03. Photo documentation — the single most important step
If a former tenant later claims a Rolex, a laptop, or a 65-inch TV was in the unit, your only defense is contemporaneous photo evidence. Every reputable Arizona eviction cleanout crew (ours included) shoots room-by-room photos before touching anything, plus a running inventory log signed and time-stamped.
Ask your cleanout vendor for the deliverable in writing before you book: a shared folder of dated, geo-tagged photos, an itemized inventory of anything of apparent value, and a signed statement of disposal. If they don't offer this by default, book someone else — you're buying legal cover, not just labor.
04. What a Phoenix-metro eviction cleanout actually costs
Post-eviction pricing sits higher than a normal cleanout because of PPE, photo-documentation labor, and dump tonnage — evicted units often include soiled furniture, spoiled food, and biohazards. All numbers below assume same-day service, flat-quoted, no hourly surprises.
- Studio / 1-bed apartment: $499–$799
- 2–3 bed apartment or condo: $799–$1,499
- Single-family 3-bed: $1,295–$2,495
- Single-family 4-bed + garage: $1,895–$3,495
- Heavy hoarding-tier eviction (multi-truck): $3,995–$8,995
- Biohazard remediation (needles, feces, blood, rodent nesting): +$395–$1,495 depending on scope
- After-hours / same-day writ response: +$150–$395
- Vehicle removal (abandoned car in driveway): billed separately; usually towed by third party
05. Scheduling around writ day
The single biggest lever for reducing your vacancy loss is booking the cleanout to start within 60 minutes of the constable's lockout. Every day a Phoenix rental sits vacant post-eviction costs an average of 1/30th of the monthly rent (typically $50–$120/day for market-rate units, more in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley).
Give your cleanout vendor 24–48 hours' notice with the tentative writ date. Confirm the morning of, meet at the property with the constable, and hand the keys directly to the crew lead. Same-day turnaround for a standard 2-bed is 3–5 hours end-to-end.
06. What a compliant cleanout scope of work looks like
Whether you're a solo landlord or managing 400 doors, the scope of work should be identical. This is what we run on every Maricopa County eviction:
- Arrive at or after the constable's lockout — never before
- Photograph exterior, all entry points, and each room in its original state
- Room-by-room inventory of items of apparent value ($100+ resale)
- Segregate storage-eligible items into labeled bins for the 14-day hold
- Haul all obvious trash, spoiled food, and no-value items to the transfer station
- Sweep, remove nails/screws, broom-clean floors — ready for painters and turnover crew
- Deliver photo package, inventory log, and disposal certificate within 24 hours
- Hand keys back to landlord or property manager, or lock and confirm via text
07. REO, trustee-sale, and bank-owned trash-outs
Trash-outs on foreclosed and REO properties follow the same physical playbook but different paperwork — the asset manager's scope replaces ARS 33-1370. Expect initial-services checklists, recurring maintenance visits, winterization (yes, even in AZ, for the handful of hillside Prescott and Payson properties), and strict photo-milestone requirements uploaded to a vendor portal (Safeguard, MSI, Cyprexx, etc.).
If you're an asset manager reading this — we run these to spec. If you're a landlord and the property was surrendered voluntarily via cash-for-keys, you skip the ARS 33-1370 storage requirement entirely; document the surrender in writing and haul everything same-day.
08. Common mistakes that cost Arizona landlords
Patterns we see repeatedly on jobs we're called in to fix.
- Starting the cleanout before the constable posts the writ (illegal self-help eviction — huge exposure)
- Skipping photos of a 'clearly trashed' unit — later becomes the tenant's word against yours
- Trashing items of apparent value without the 14-day storage period
- Not sending the ARS 33-1370 notice to the tenant's last known address
- Hiring a general junk hauler with no eviction protocol — no PPE, no inventory, no photo package
- Waiting until the day after writ day to schedule the haul (24+ hours of avoidable vacancy)
- Forgetting to change locks and rekey the unit before the crew leaves
- Never touch the unit until the constable posts the writ of restitution.
- ARS 33-1370 requires inventory, written notice, and a 14-day storage period for items of apparent value.
- Photo documentation — room-by-room, timestamped — is the landlord's only real legal defense.
- Same-day cleanout starting within an hour of writ posting is the cheapest way to cut vacancy loss.
- Standard Phoenix-metro eviction cleanouts run $499–$3,495 flat-quoted, same-day, fully documented.
Common questions
Immediately after the constable executes the writ of restitution and physically locks the tenant out. Starting even one hour before the lockout is considered self-help eviction and creates significant landlord liability under ARS 33-1367.
Yes — items of apparent value must be inventoried, stored, and preserved for at least 14 days after written notice is sent to the tenant's last known address, per ARS 33-1370. Obvious trash, spoiled food, and no-value items can be disposed of immediately with photo documentation.
Studios and 1-beds run $499–$799, 2–3 bed units $799–$1,499, and full single-family homes $1,295–$3,495. Hoarding-tier and biohazard-heavy jobs price higher. All quotes should be flat, same-day, with photo documentation included.
A compliant vendor delivers a dated photo package (every room, before/after), an itemized inventory of anything of apparent value, and a signed certificate of disposal. Keep this on file for at least 2 years in case the former tenant later disputes.
Yes — same-day service is standard. Give 24–48 hours' notice with the tentative writ date, confirm the morning of, and we meet you at the property right after the constable's lockout. Most 2-bed units are turned in 3–5 hours.
Abandoned vehicles are handled separately by a licensed tow operator (we can coordinate). Biohazards — needles, feces, blood, heavy rodent activity — are handled in-house with PPE and add $395–$1,495 to the base cleanout depending on scope.