Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord - Landlord Forum thread 356732

Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Andrea Belcher (North Carolina) on April 4, 2018 @18:10

I have tenants(a couple) that were served a pay-or-quit eviction notice this morning and 45 minutes later, I receive an email from one of them demanding "pay stubs for handyman work they did for me around the house "or she will do what she has to do". I know that her threat doesn't hold water because I did my research on paying the guy before I had him help out, so I'm not worried about something coming out of that. What I am worried about, however, is that she's going to try to do anything she can to undermine me out of retaliation. How do I prevent that? Do I need to make someone aware of the initial unfounded threat

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Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Anonymous on April 4, 2018 @19:53	[ Reply ]

If it were me I would save a copy of every email/text and document every phone call you receive from them, then just ignore it for the timing being. If I had a nickel for every time someone threatened me, I have A LOT of nickels.

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Katie (CA) on April 4, 2018 @20:45	[ Reply ]

My UD tenants ALWAYS file on the last, at the last minute, claiming retaliation. The judge asked my last two exactly WHAT/HOW I was retaliating. One said it was because they were not paying rent. The other? She had brought a puppy into a no pet sfh, signed the pet addendum and refused to pay the pet fee, the $25/month extra OR her rent at all. The judge was livid.

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Stephen (Washington (WA)) on April 5, 2018 @13:38	[ Reply ]

"What I am worried about, however, is that she's going to try to do anything she can to undermine me out of retaliation. How do I prevent that?" I once told a lawyer I wanted to set things up so I couldn't be sued. He said that anyone can sue anytime. But what he (the lawyer) can help set up is for me to win when I'm sued. So, how do you prevent the tenant trying to undermine you? You can't. But with good documentation and biting your tongue you can probably win anyway.

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Anonymous on April 5, 2018 @16:52	[ Reply ]

This is the reason you never have a T do any work on your property. They could claim injuries and it could cost you big. Even hiring people off craigslist is just asking for trouble. All the money you may save in paying a T VS an insured and licensed person to do the work. Will seem like peanuts if the T wins a lawsuit against you.

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by Stephen (Washington (WA)) on April 7, 2018 @02:30	[ Reply ]

Let's see whether I understand this: you allowed/had tenant do certain handyman work for you and they now want "pay stubs" for you paying them as an employee. Did you hire him as an employee or was this as an independent contractor (for which you might owe a 1099)?

Re: Tenant Retaliation Against Landlord by teddy on April 7, 2018 @08:03	[ Reply ]

" How do I prevent that? Do I need to make someone aware of the initial unfounded threat." Stop allowing T to do work on your property. Duh Call a lawyer to seek their recommendations to the issue. They should be able to address it better than some random forum.