Arizona Landlord Liability Law: Assistance Animal Injuries
by Platuni | 29 Sep, 2026 | 5 mins read
Platuni
29 September, 2026
5 mins read
1. What the new law actually says
House Bill 2068 adds a new section to Arizona law, ARS 41-1497.38, which reads that a landlord is not liable for injuries or damages caused by a purported assistance animal or purported service animal that is allowed as a reasonable accommodation. This is a liability shield, not a rule about whether landlords must allow assistance animals in the first place; that obligation already existed under fair housing law and is untouched here.
[Cite: ARS 41-1497.38, HB 2068, Laws 2025, ch. 191]
The placement matters. This provision sits in Title 41, the chapter covering civil rights and reasonable accommodations, rather than Title 33, the residential landlord-tenant act. A landlord searching Arizona's standard tenant law for this protection wouldn't necessarily find it there.
[Cite: ARS 41-1497.38]
2. Assistance animal versus service animal, and why the distinction matters
The law amends ARS 41-1491 to add two separate definitions. An assistance animal is defined broadly: a trained or untrained animal that works, provides assistance, performs tasks, or provides therapeutic or emotional support for a person with a disability. This can include species other than dogs, and the animal doesn't need formal training.
[Cite: ARS 41-1491, as amended by HB 2068]
A service animal is defined more narrowly: a dog or miniature horse that is individually trained, or in training, to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. The statute explicitly excludes other species from this narrower category.
[Cite: ARS 41-1491, as amended by HB 2068]
Both terms trigger the same liability shield under 41-1497.38, so the practical distinction matters less for the immunity itself than it does for other parts of fair housing law, where the two categories can be treated differently. Landlords should still understand which definition applies to a given accommodation, since the broader assistance-animal definition means a wider range of animals can qualify.
3. What the shield doesn't change
The statute includes a preservation clause stating it does not limit or abridge the rights of a person with a disability as otherwise provided in the same chapter. In practice, that means a landlord's obligation to consider and grant reasonable accommodation requests for assistance and service animals under existing fair housing rules is unaffected. This law only addresses who bears liability if the animal causes an injury or damage once it's already on the property as an approved accommodation.
[Cite: ARS 41-1497.38]
The enacted text contains no carve-out for a landlord's own negligence separate from the animal's conduct. If a landlord's own actions caused harm, independent of anything the animal did, this statute doesn't appear to shield that separate conduct; the immunity is specifically tied to injuries or damages the animal itself causes.
4. When the law took effect
The bill text as enacted contains no specific effective-date clause and no emergency clause. Under Arizona's constitution, a law without either takes effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns sine die for that session. Based on the 2025 session's adjournment, that placed the effective date at September 26, 2025.
[Cite: Ariz. Const. art. IV, pt. 1, section 1(3); Arizona Secretary of State, 2025 general effective date]
Landlords should treat any incident involving an assistance or service animal before that date as governed by whatever liability standard applied previously, since this statute is not retroactive.
Frequently asked questions
Does this law mean landlords can refuse assistance animals now?
No. The statute only addresses liability for injuries or damage after an animal has already been allowed as a reasonable accommodation. A landlord's obligation to evaluate and grant reasonable accommodation requests under existing fair housing law is unchanged.
Is an emotional support animal covered by this shield?
Likely yes, under the assistance-animal definition, which includes animals that provide therapeutic or emotional support and doesn't require formal training. A narrower service animal, by contrast, must be a dog or miniature horse that's individually trained.
Does the shield protect a landlord who was negligent in some other way?
The enacted text ties the immunity specifically to injuries or damages the animal causes. It doesn't contain language extending that protection to separate negligent conduct by the landlord unrelated to the animal itself.
What if an incident happened before September 26, 2025?
The statute isn't retroactive. An incident that occurred before the effective date would be evaluated under whatever liability rules applied at that time, not under this new shield.
Where is this law located in Arizona's statutes?
ARS 41-1497.38, inside Title 41, the chapter covering civil rights and reasonable accommodations. It isn't part of Title 33, Arizona's residential landlord-tenant act, so it's easy to miss if you're only checking landlord-tenant law directly.
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