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2026 Legislative Updates

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FEBRAURY 17, 2026

This Friday, February 20th, is the deadline for bills to be heard and pass out of a committee in their chamber of origin. Which means, any legislation that does not receive a majority vote in the standing committee it has been assigned to by the end of the week will officially be dead. This is a big moment in the legislative session as it drastically reduces the number of bills still alive and, hopefully, the Arizona REALTORS® will already have several victories defeating harmful policies that would negatively impact the real estate industry. It also means very long committee agendas and evenings at the Capitol for the remainder of this week. So, if you see a cranky legislator or lobbyist in the next couple of days, they probably just need an extra-large cup of coffee!

One policy area the Arizona REALTORS® hopes to secure as a victory via legislation that officially dies at the end of next week is various proposals to erode private property rights for property managers and housing providers across Arizona. Below is a list of bills the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee opposed that would bring a host of problematic tenant protection laws to Arizona. These bills, which, while on the surface have positive intent, have significantly harmed the real estate industry in states around the country that have implemented these ideas.

  • HB 2708 Landlord tenant; judgment; fees; satisfaction (Rep Villegas LD 20) – Oppose
  • HB 2709 Landlord tenant; applications; fees; disclosures (Rep Villegas LD 20) – Oppose
  • HB 2710 Landlord tenant; evictions for cause (Rep Villegas) LD 20 – Oppose
  • HB 2712 Residential tenant evictions; court report (Rep Villegas) LD 20 – Oppose
  • HB 2718 Landlord tenant; rental amounts (Rep Villegas) LD 20 – Oppose
  • HB 2962 Rental housing; discrimination; income source (Rep Villegas) LD 20 – Oppose
  • HB 2963 Landlord tenant; settlement conferences (Rep Villegas) LD 20 – Oppose

This list of bills would bring harmful policies to Arizona, such as statewide rent control, source of income requirements, increased disclosure and legal requirements for housing providers, limiting authority for eviction of a tenant found guilty of wrongdoing, and much more. All of these ideas have been implemented in various states across the country and have resulted in documented problems that have proved harmful to the real estate industry.

When you erode property rights for housing providers, it disincentivizes them from continuing to operate in the rental market and impedes the ability of property managers to conduct business. Specifically in the case of rent control, dozens of economic studies, along with anecdotal examples, establish that these types of policies limit future housing supply as it proves harder for developers to secure financing. The solution to increasing housing supply and addressing affordability concerns in our state is not repeating the mistakes made by other states across the country that have placed government restrictions on private property rights and the free market of the real estate industry. Instead, our elected leaders need to focus on sensible planning and zoning reforms that streamline the process for developing new housing supply. The Arizona REALTORS® is proud to support several bills that aim to achieve just that, and we will discuss that legislation in a future column.

FEBRUARY 10, 2026

The bill introduction deadline has passed, and we officially crossed the 2000 bill threshold for the first time in several years. The lobbying team is now tracking over 100 bills pertaining to the real estate industry, ensuring the Arizona REALTORS® protects your ability to conduct business.

This week, we are going to focus on an age-old policy topic in Arizona, which is water. With the current Colorado River Basin Agreement expiring at the end of 2026, water is a top-of-mind discussion not only in Arizona, but for the other six states in the Colorado River Basin, as well as Mexico. These states are divided into the lower basin, which includes California, Nevada, Arizona, and the upper basin, which includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Arizona leaders in the legislature and executive branch are presenting a unified front to ensure Arizona receives a fair proportion of the Colorado River allocation. The Department of the Interior is responsible for crafting the new agreement and is working to create a plan that will be deemed acceptable by all seven states in the basin to avoid any litigation or public backlash. It is important to ensure that Arizona has the natural resources and infrastructure needed to continue to support economic development, causing our state to grow year after year.

While these negotiations are taking place, the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee is reviewing legislation that will impact water policy in the real estate development space. Currently in Arizona, when developing a single-family home subdivision, builders are required to secure a certificate proving there will be 100 years of assured water on that site. However, if you are developing a multi-story apartment complex, a builder does not need that certificate of water supply. There is solid reasoning for that, as the water usage on a smaller land footprint apartment complex is much different than a sprawling single-family home subdivision. There is currently a flaw in the system, though, because if you are building a single-family home subdivision with units for rent, not for sale, a builder does not need to secure an assured water supply certificate, as it is counted as a multifamily rental development. This, in essence, is incentivizing developers to build a rental product instead of for-sale homes, which would increase homeownership opportunities for Arizona families and individuals. The legislation below is officially supported by the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee.

HB 2722 Water; residential lease communities (Representative Bliss, LD 1) – Support

This bill would level the playing field by requiring developers who are building a single-family home subdivision for rent to secure an assured water supply certificate, the same as required for developments consisting of single-family homes that are for sale. The Arizona REALTORS® wants to increase homeownership opportunities in our state and see new housing supply that furthers that goal. It is also important to be responsible with our water resources. Ensuring housing developments have a water supply for the foreseeable future is crucial to create consumer confidence in the real estate industry and protect homeowners. Your association will continue to be a voice for sustainable water policy that ensures we have the resources necessary to meet the increasing housing demand in Arizona.

FEBRUARY 3, 2026

As the calendar turns to February, we are almost a month into the 2026 Legislative Session. No more bills can be introduced in the Senate as the deadline passed yesterday, Monday, February 2nd, and the House bill introduction deadline is next Monday, February 9th. This means the REALTORS® Legislative Agenda is starting to take form, and your advocacy team will be busier than ever protecting the real estate industry. We are already tracking over 70 real estate-related bills, and the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee has taken an official position on over 30 pieces of legislation. With over 1700 bills introduced as of last Friday, it appears another lengthy Legislative Session is ahead of us.

This week, we are going to focus on one particular policy topic and bill. Construction defects have been a topic of conversation both at the Legislature and the courts over the past couple of years in Arizona. You will recall from our weekly updates in 2025 that the Arizona REALTORS® opposed two pieces of harmful construction defect legislation last year.

That legislation would have eroded protections for homebuyers of new housing construction, burdening them with potentially tens of thousands of dollars in repairs as soon as four years after development. The Arizona REALTORS® helped defeat that legislation to protect homeowners across the state. However, we recognize that Arizona is lacking entry-level ownership housing supply for potential first-time homebuyers and want to see that corrected. Developers of for-sale condominiums have expressed that an increase in construction defect lawsuits, sometimes filed by out-of-state law firms and appearing to lack merit, is causing liability and financing struggles that discourage new development. Last fall, the Arizona REALTORS® led the charge on organizing stakeholder meetings with legislators, developers, and industry partners to work on a solution to this problem. The bill introduced below is the result of those meetings and was officially supported by the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee last week.

  • SB 1450 Condominiums; construction defects; actions; procedures (Senator Shope, LD 16) – Support

Senate President Pro Tempore Shope was proud to sponsor this legislation and has been a REALTOR® Champion during his tenure at the Arizona Legislature. The Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee found this to be common-sense legislation that will continue to protect homeowners from burdensome repairs, while also incentivizing the creation of entry-level homeownership units. It is important to note that this legislation applies only to condominium construction, and that existing or new single-family home construction will not be affected if SB 1450 is signed into law. We will update you on this bill’s progress during the 2026 Legislative Session, as it is one of our top legislative priorities this year. The Arizona REALTORS® will continue to be a voice for expanding homeownership opportunities at the state capitol.

JANUARY 20, 2026

We are less than 10 days into the 2026 Legislative Session, and we have already seen several bills introduced that will impact the real estate industry. The Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee is hard at work reviewing these bills and deliberating positions to protect our industry and your ability to conduct business.

This week, we will focus on protecting the private property rights of the short-term rental industry. The Arizona REALTORS® understands the nuance that exists within the short-term rental industry. Specifically, there needs to be a balance between the private property rights of the homeowner and the private property rights of the neighboring owners. We have been supportive of legislation in the past that would allow local municipalities to prevent bad actors from using residential homes as commercial event venues or “party houses.” However, the bills below, which are opposed by the Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee, would impact the fundamental rights of homeowners in our state.

  • SB 1076 Vacation Rentals; Maximum Number; Distance                                                                                      

(Senator Finchem, Legislative District 1) – This bill grants cities and towns with populations under 70,000 the authority to set maximum numbers of vacation rental or short-term rental permits and to establish minimum distance requirements between such rentals. This creates a direct threat to the private property rights of your clients. It also inserts government manipulation into the free market of real estate by altering home prices through limiting the uses tied to said properties.

  • SB 1084 Online Home Sharing; Repeal                                                               

(Senator Finchem, Legislative District 1) – This bill would eliminate a key piece of legislation from the previous decade that allows online lodging marketplaces such as AirBnB to collect and remit taxes to the Department of Revenue on short-term rentals. If passed, this would create an unnecessary burden for homeowners who do not have the same resources to properly collect and remit these funds as large online lodging marketplace companies. It would also adjust the property tax classification for short-term rentals, resulting in a higher tax burden than other residential properties.

  • SB 1105 Rental; Accessory Dwelling Units; prohibition

(Senator Kavanagh, Legislative District 3) This bill would prohibit the use of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) as a short-term rental. Currently, state law requires that if an ADU will operate as a short-term rental, the primary residence must be owner-occupied. This speaks to the Arizona REALTORS® stance that short-term rentals are a nuanced topic, and the Association was proud to support this language in a bill focused on increasing ADU production during the 2024 session. The current law prevents concerns that out-of-state investors will purchase R-1 zoned parcels and turn them into miniature hotels with multiple ADUs on the property. Eliminating the ability for a primary resident of a home to build an ADU that they can then turn into a short-term rental as an additional revenue source, while maintaining direct oversight of the guests, is a massive infringement on private property rights that the Arizona REALTORS® will not support.

The Arizona REALTORS® is still eager to work with stakeholders on this issue to find legislation that will eliminate offensive short-term rentals, which unfortunately do exist. However, the above legislation is not the solution as it will only harm homeowners across the state. We need to address the challenges local municipalities face in removing regular offenders under the current “Three Strike Rule” that prohibits irresponsible operators from obtaining a short-term rental permit.

JANUARY 13, 2026

The 2026 Legislative Session is officially underway, convening for the first day on Monday, January 12th. It was kicked off with the Governor’s State of the State Address to all 90 state legislators in the House of Representatives. Housing affordability and private property rights appear to be of great importance to both the Governor and Legislative leadership as they work to bolster their respective re-election campaigns. The Arizona REALTORS® will remain diligent to ensure our industry is protected.

Each year, we begin our Arizona REALTORS® weekly legislative updates with helpful insight into the legislative process at the state Capitol. This week, we would like to briefly explain the legislative process of how a bill becomes law. It is important background as you follow the journey of our REALTOR® Legislative Agenda this session.

  • Step 1: A bill is written by a legislative sponsor in either the House or the Senate. A Senator-authored bill number begins with SB and will begin its lifecycle in the Senate, and a Representative-authored bill number begins with HB and will start in the House.
  • Step 2: The leader of the Chamber of origin (Senate President or Speaker of the House) will have the bill assigned for a first reading. If the bill does not have a first reading, it dies.
  • Step 3: The bill will then have a second reading, where the Senate President or Speaker of the House assigns the bill to be heard in a committee.
  • Step 4: The Chair of the Committee will place the bill on an agenda to be discussed, amended if necessary, and voted on. If the bill is not placed on a committee agenda or the vote fails, the bill dies.
  • Step 5: The bill will be discussed by the Caucus of each political party before the entire House or Senate votes on it. If the bill does not receive a majority vote, it dies.
  • Step 6: The bill then follows the exact process above in the opposite chamber, so if it started in the House, it will move to the Senate and vice versa.
  • Step 7: If the bill received any major amendments in the second chamber, it must then return to the chamber of origin for reconsideration; otherwise, it is transmitted to the Governor.
  • Step 8: A bill approved by the legislature will then either be signed by the Governor and accepted into law or vetoed, which kills the bill.

Your advocacy team is already hard at work reviewing legislation impacting the real estate industry. With over 200 bills pre-filed as of last Friday, before the session even began, we expect our Legislative Agenda to be as full as ever. As we progress, more bills will begin to be introduced, assigned to, and voted on by various House and Senate Committees. The 2026 Arizona REALTORS® Legislative Committee will meet for the second time this Thursday with several pre-filed bills to review pertaining to the real estate industry. Continue to check back here weekly for updates throughout the legislative session.

Please click here for our 2025 Updates | 2024 Updates | 2023 Updates