I have a very difficult section 8 tenant that is causing me a lot of headache from day one. She moved in September 2018. Whenever there is anything that needs to be fixed she freaks out so much and creates hell for nothing. I have a construction company and I can fix most anything right away, but no, I have to deal with the drama first. On last Friday I installed a new furnace in her home. The old one was working but I decided to put a new one in just to be safe before the winter. New furnaces give off some smoke due having oil burning for a few hours but the tenant called freaked out and called the gas company instead of calling me. Gas company came and shut the gas off and found a small leak, red tagged and left. She called and raised hell with me, but I still sent a plumber to her house right away to fix it. The tenant would not let the plumber inside and called her brother to come and fight with him. They demanded the plumber to produce his license which he did not have with him at that time therefore he was not allowed to enter the house. He is a licensed and insured plumber. This morning the tenant called the Health Department and they called me to do urgent repairs. I told them the same thing that the tenant would not let us in so I cannot help them. I sent the tenant a mutual rescission of lease form so she can move out asap and get new moving papers. What would you do in this situation? Can you evict under such a situation?

I have made a new company policy to not participate in the section 8 program going forward and I will not be renewing any existing section 8 leases. Please advise.

Contact your local HUD office and tell them (in writing) tenant is NOT allowing access for repairs. Also let city know the same.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing to me.

Dealing with insane entitlement types is always a challenge. Here's a method I've used in the past.

When you realize they are insane, and this one certainly seems to qualify, drive them over the edge until they are frothing at the mouth, screaming and flapping their arms. It doesn't take much.

Then put the police onto them. They have ways to deal with crazies. You suspect they are doing drugs and possibly selling drugs.You'll likely be right. Use drug use as a reason to evict them. Have them kicked off Section 8. It's for the good of the neighborhood and society if crazy drug addicts are locked up.

Keep your cool. Be the responsible rational owner, not the raving drooling lunatic tenant.

I too am a contractor with a construction company. One of my Section 8 tenants would run the hot water in the bathtub for 20 minutes to get the water to the tub and then claim she ran out of hot water too quickly. Her unit has it's own 30 gallon water heater. No matter how I explain the use of her individual water heater she complained to Section 8 that she needed a new water heater.

I am also I licensed California Plumbing Contractor with "Water Heater" certifications. The City would not allow me to evict this tenant until I proved I installed a new, properly working water heater.

So I installed a larger, 40 gallon, water heater with a quick recovery rating. This section 8 tenant still complained her three kids couldn't bath one after each other and do the laundry without running out of Hot Water.

So I sued Section 8, my City and Housing for the cost of the new water heater and loss of rent during the eviction. I had the head plumbing inspector testify at my hearing. If I drop my claim against the City, they would put the eviction through.

So I evicted the tenant and swapped out the old water heater for the new one I had installed.

Sometimes you have to play with fire with fire.

Exactly what the others are saying. Sounds like you are doing the right thing so just contact them in person (even codes) and then FOLLOW UP in writing to protect yourself.

I also would have your plumber indicate on their letter head exactly what occurred and that the tenant REFUSED them to work/entry, etc. Make sure the information they put down includes the date, time and the reason they were sent there BY YOU.

Also - National Grid most likely didn't find a leak - NG ALWAYS shuts things down for that. I had a similar situation (tenant upstairs got home and smelled gas). He called the Fire Dept and went downstairs to tell and ask them if they smelled it.

Fire Dept called National Grid … they tagged the stove in the first floor apartment and said there was a leak in the line to the stove. I went there with the plumber the next day and he tested the line (we had a new one to install but he was a bit curious if NG really tested anything since NOTHING was marked). There was no tear in the line and he checked it multiple times. We then went through all of the connections from the meter and checked everything … NODDA.

First, I'd send my guy over again along with a reminder that if she refuses entry for service when proper notice has been give, that is a material breach of our lease and I will EVICT her immediately if she refuses access. Have your plumber document the day and time he went, and if the tenant refuses entry he send you an invoice with a service call charge and a note saying "Tenant refused entry" and you then bill that charge back to tenant. Keep that invoice and note as proof if it goes to court.

I do not mess with people like this. They comply or they go live somewhere else, pronto. Eviction for cause is the fastest guaranteed way to get back possession of the property aside from paying her "cash for keys" to leave on her own.

I can see that she is worried about the home......but her actions prevent any corrective action from occurring.

Please advise the local housing office of this issue: Absent of her changing her behavior, she is winning the opportunity to be a pain in someone else's behind. You absolutely need to get the heating system functional.

The saga continues. Section 8 failed the property for not having gas and she was given new moving papers. She found a place and wanted her security deposit back. I said first you have to move out and then I will hand it to you. She gave my number to a new landlord that wanted to make sure I will pay him directly when she moves and I agreed. The check will be made out to her name so she can endorse it and give it to the new landlord. The new landlord never asked me anything about the tenant and just wanted his deposit.

After this I received a call from the local Health Department about me not fixing her heat. When I explained what happened, they understood and left me alone.

This morning I received a call from the local TV station as to why I am not fixing her heat. This was at 7:29am. I was in bed and I said I will call you back. I downloaded an app to record conversations and called the woman back but they refused to talk to me over a recorded line. I have emailed them and I wanted documentary proof of the discussion before it goes any further. I will not be surprised by a law suit at this point.

Nicole: My plumber did not argue with the tenant. She refused to let him in because she believes plumbers should not fix gas lines. It should be the gas company. To be continued.

I believe in PA a tenant must let you in if you give them 24 hour's notice to do necessary repairs.

Also, are you in some big city? Because there is no plumbing license in PA. There's also no electrician license.

Well it did pass finally. On Thursday she allowed a plumber to enter and check the red tags. It turned out it wasn't a gas leak at all! The furnace wasn't working. I called the furnace guy and he went and it fixed it on Friday. The tenant called and apologized to me and said her anxiety caused all this drama and she needs to get better medication. She also called the Health Department and the media people to explain what had actually happened.

Well it did pass finally. On Thursday she allowed a plumber to enter and check the red tags. It turned out it wasn't a gas leak at all! The furnace wasn't working. I called the furnace guy and he went and it fixed it on Friday. The tenant called and apologized to me and said her anxiety caused all this drama and she needs to get better medication. She also called the Health Department and the media people to explain what had actually happened.