This is the letter my disgruntled tenant sent me to justify withholding the rent for August. I will deal with each point separately Get ready to roll on the floor laughing.

"My daughter, M., and I are experiencing significant health problems that are caused by exposure to mold."

The tenant told me a few years ago that she is allergic to the hay her rabbit eats. I allowed one rabbit in the lease, She got a second one. They are in an alcove next to the kitchen and there is hot air heat so it's sucking the air and rabbit stuff in and blowing it all over the building.

"The basement directly below our apartment has not been maintained in a safe or decent manner, water and mold have been present since we moved in July 2010 and increased significantly over the past 7 years."

Nope. It's a dry basement. Has a working sump pump and there has been a drought here for the past six years since 2011. Almost no snow in winter and little rain. The only water was from their leaky tub that they failed to report and I had the plumber fix it whenever there was water on the basement floor that I found. Over the past month it has been extremely wet with six or more inches of rain and there is zero water in the basement.

More tenant trash:

"Further compounding the problem I was instructed by you to never open the basement doors for fresh air ventilation. This is a violation of the Warranty of Habitability, therefore I am withholding rent for August 2017.

This tenant was opening the Bilco doors and leaving them open all day and leaving the building. At the time we had someone breaking into homes, there were copper pipe thefts, and of course mice would have come in, insects, raccoons and whatever else lives there. There is plenty of ventilation around the wooden door that closes inside as well as when the dryer runs pulling air from the basement. In the lease I require that windows be shut when the tenant leaves the house and she left windows open summer and winter and goes to work all day. I never sent her notices and should have. I have photos from today with all the windows wide open.

"Ceiling is falling and pieces of it hit us in the face and head".

Nope. the electrician drilled a hole through it accidentally and then did not respond to my calls to fix it. I agree a lot of time has gone by but it was about a four inch by four inch piece of coating that fell. And it's fixed now since the plumber hired his own plaster guy and sent him over.

"Front yard shrubs/trees are not maintained and due to their overgrowth and the presence of weeds there are a significant amount of mosquitos and ticks. Poison ivy which is present in the back yard most likely is present in the overgrowth out front."

Nope. I have been over there trimming it constantly. We have had five inches of rain and stuff is growing faster that I can fix it. Also just found a tree/brush guy who will come out. The one I called in spring has not responded so maybe he fell out of a tree. Tree brush guy came yesterday and cleared out overgrowth. Actually she doesn't use curtains in her bedroom which faces the street so I did let stuff grow up a bit so the neighbors wouldn't be horrified. She said she found one tick on her and that could have come from anywhere. I was out with the tree guys yesterday and no ticks on me or them.

And finally,

"Light in the garage only goes on if the garage door is opened. If I need to go in the garage at night and do not want to open the door, I was told by you to use a flashlight. "

Yes, I told her that. The garage was supposed to be for one of their cars because I needed parking for the upstairs tenant. She turned it into a storage room for plastic boxes full of her stuff, her other daughters furniture who does not live the and a private gym with a small floor trampoline and other small equipment. Nope, not paying a bunch of money to light that for her. Actually there was a control that would allow her to turn on the light but it also locked me from entering the garage which is a common area where I have to get to a hose bib and equipment. So I had the garage door guy remove that and just make it so the door goes up and down and the light comes on for that only. What's wrong with a flashlight? Seems like a good idea to me.

She just sent me another email. Get ready to laugh.

Going forward I request that your honor our lease, section #12 Access to Apartment.  As stated in this section you would give reasonable notice to make repairs or improvements, you have mentioned in past emails this would be a 24 hour notice except for an emergency.  Tuesday August 8th at 9 am you had a lawn service come to my apartment located at 513 Concord Ave to do yard work and requested we move our cars at that time so they can use the driveway for removal.  The driveway is part of my living space that I am paying for therefore I should have had 24 hour notice.  Again, they are at my apartment today August 9 to do yard work in the front yard and I received no notice from you.  Yesterday I had taken off from work to move some of my belongings and I needed to use my driveway.   Going forward I would appreciate you honoring the lease signed by you on 7/20/2010.

I reminded her that her rental space is one quarter inch from each wall inside the apartment. Can you imagine that? She complains that the yard is overgrown and complains that the tree guys came and complains that the law service came today. I feel sorry for whoever rented to her.

I agree the tenant is basically whining to try to get out of paying rent. That said, a few phrases in your responses caught my attention.

1) "he electrician drilled a hole through it accidentally and then did not respond to my calls to fix it. I agree a lot of time has gone by but it was about a four inch by four inch piece of coating that fell. "

I'd have had a handyman over there and paid him $40 to fix the hole within 2-3 days. It's silly to leave a hole in the ceiling just because your electrician won't return your calls. Not tenant's fault he is a slow poke. Deduct from his pay for the damage he caused and fail to remedy in a timely manner.

2) "I have been over there trimming it constantly. We have had five inches of rain and stuff is growing faster that I can fix it."

Again, not the tenant's problem that you cannot keep up. Sounds like you need a helper. Yard guys are a dime a dozen. Find one and hire it done. My state experienced torrential rains and flooding this past May that closed an interstate highway and made national news. My yard guy still kept the lawns mowed the 1 or 2 days per week it wasn't pouring.

Overall, I agree this tenants needs to go, and her letter is (mostly) frivolous and one-sided. However, I am not hearing consistent business-like responses from you. As has often been observed on this forum, tenants generally are more responsive when they perceive we are responsive. For this lady it probably wouldn't matter, but it's good food for thought in the future. Phrases like, "I couldn't take care of issue X because of (insert excuse)" is like a tenant saying "I can't pay rent because of (insert excuse)." We get paid the "big bucks" to always take care of stuff in a timely manner, right? (wink)

I'm not trying to beat up on you--but based on what you've said here, it sounds like a lot of this stuff is due to tolerating an uncooperative tenant and then trying to one-up her with snappy, counter-punch style responses.

I had a tenant like this once too and it was SO TEMPTING to shove stuff back in her face when she got snippy or tried to bully me with my own lease. I did give into temptation one time and snapped back. Later, I realized it did nothing to help and turned her from an annoying wasp into a chaotic bear.

Nowadays, I wouldn't even respond to any of her stuff except to say, "Thank you for voicing these concerns. We will take steps to remedy all valid complaints immediately. Meanwhile, August rent is past due and must be received in 24 hours or we will be filing for eviction. Yours truly, the Manager."

Ally.. so what does NJ statute say about witholding rents

Haha!

Let the excuses flow. She doesn't want to pay rent and is looking for another place.

Can't do much about it now.

You are now old news and she has tossed any respect for the relationship out the window. Likewise, out with the old and in with the new!

OPM the NJ Truth in Renting booklet, available online says that rent can be withheld if a major system is not being fixed like heat, electric, water, but it has to be done in court and the rent gets paid to the court until the landlord fixes the problem or the court will fix it.

This woman is divorced and she and her husband had a slum rental in downtown Trenton. She told me about it when she moved in. She eventually sold it. I suspect that her tenants had to seriously get some help from a lawyer to deal with her and she is remembering some of what her tenants did to her.

She has violated the lease often but I just asked her to stop and didn't send Cease and Desist notices because I knew it would turn into a war.

I just ignore text/emails like that pay or get served.

If its not legit it doesn't get a response, this is her just trying to justify not paying.

I had one that texted me a book on her court battle with her ex husband, I never responded.

Sid, actually I had several contractors in there to look at the ceiling hole. My handyman wanted to cut out a square area and replaster. He is a terrible plasterer. Uses a thick kind and no skills and heavy hand so I thanked him and looked elsewhere.

Next guy wanted to remove the entire six by six or so ceiling and rerock it. That was overkill. I can plaster but after my cancer surgery, can't reach up there.

Asked the plumber to give me a guy's name, called him and no call back.

This week found out the plumber now employs a plaster guy as he has started doing bathroom upgrades. So he sent his guy over. A couple of swipes with the trowel and it was done. This guy was so good there were NO LINES. You folks who plaster know what that means. I gave him a round of applause. They hung around a bit for first coat to dry, added second coat and then painted. Now mind you, the size of the finished spot was about one foot by one foot after they had pulled down some loose spackle. No grounds for withholding rent.

I agree that she can't just withhold rent. To do so, it very likely has to be escrowed at the court as you mentioned.

That being said, I still agree with Sid. Some of the things are just her being a PITA tenant. But at least a couple of the things seem legit concerns.

So, I wouldn't call it "funny" -- because she has a few points and is throwing things around like "Warranty of Habitability" -- so she knows enough to be dangerous, at least...

- John...

Ally, I have followed the story of this tenant as it has unfolded. I must say over the years you seem to have the oddest situations and tenants. Maybe you are just more sensitive(annoyed by stuff), or maybe you just have more inter-action with your tenants then most, or maybe you are just very verbal and able to writ long explanations about situations. Or maybe these odd people and situations find YOU.

Ally, sounds like you got a doozy of a tenant.

On the garage light thing... is there one outlet

in the garage ? I had problem with my garage door

light not coming on so I plugged on a floor lamp on a

little timer to come on the times when I know I will be

coming and going though the garage. Maybe that could

AllyM,

Get the stuff fixed and give them a 3 day notice, then file. Be blameless.

I would be giving them the Happy Clause. I suspect they are gearing up to sue.

Wanna be right or rich?

Evict for non-payment. She has crossed a red line. And I've had my share of mold b.s.

- one tenasnt never aired their bathroom (in the desert, hot & 10% humidity). Another tenant required mold testing. SHE spilled water and kept the window closed... The coist? 4-figure amount. It's a new way of blackmail.

Sounds like you could use this in the garage,..I love these battery's seem to last for years, I used them in closets,..over doors so you can see your keys, in cellars in bilco doors,..etc etc,..cheap enough,... easy to mount. Gives a surprising amount of light,

I have lined up the painter and the locksmith who will be working on the apartment on September 1 after the psycho leaves on the 31st. She has given notice via certified mail and when they do that the state allows the landlord to collect double rent if they overstay.