State Specific Question About: MINNESOTA (MN)

I discovered that I had a mouse problem back in August and immediately got an exterminator in. The exterminator treated the building and then came back for a follow up one month later. A few weeks after the follow up they began resurfacing. I received an email from a tenant in this 4 unit building very upset, stating that this should have been taken care of by now. etc. etc. I called the owner of the company which is reputable by the way and he offered to step up the treatments to bi weekly and place traps outside. Within 2 days after the treatment this tenant has began complaining again. I called the owner of the company again and he personally is coming out for the next treatment.

Next, a tenant above them tipped over a mop bucket and it seeped down the wall of their bathroom. I sent a plumber over to check all of the piping and he determined there were no leaks and that the seepage was due to the bucket of mop water. The tenant became irate and stated that there is no way that could've happened and it must be a pipe. He also stated that he called a plumbing company and they told him so as well. This house is 100 years old by the way.

As far as the mouse issue, it seems that you are doing all you can to mitigate the problem. For the water leakage, if it were a pipe, it would continue to cause problems. The tenant saying that they called a plumber is BS. They would have had to pay for that.

Threats of court rarely turn into an actual court date. Just keep all of your documentation on everything you have done and continue to do to solve the issues. It looks like you have done everything you would need to.

How long has this PITA been a tenant?

Is he M-t-M or on a lease?

1. When a T threatens to sue me, I sometimes decide to terminate the T. I do not take the threat seriously, because T's rarely follow through on this threat, but I don't want to encourage such conduct. [However, if a T files a complaint with Code Enforcement, I cannot terminate the tenancy due to anti-retaliation laws.]

2. If a T is on a lease, and is being a pain, I will sometimes offer the "Happy Clause." This is just a nickname for a conversation with the T: You are not happy here. Although there are ___ months left on your lease, I will release you from the lease if you want, and you can vacate the property by Oct 31, 2018. No penalty, no Early Termination Fee. I want you to be happy."

3. Or I can just ignore the threat to sue, and proceed as if that noisemaker was not making any noise. Take care of business and ignore him.

The odds of a tenant following thru with a court tgreat is rare. You are being pro-active so I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Keep your documentation and proof of what you are doing to address the issues just in case.

In a conversation I had with him yesterday I made the offer for the lease to terminate on 11/30 and he immediately accepted. Verbally.... I told him that I would need an email stating this and once sent I would reply with a YES! It's been 24 hours and still nothing and I told him I needed it yesterday so I can start looking for tenants. I actually have 2 potential candidates whom are referrals of the current tenants but I cannot get them in until I have this in writing. My wife spoke to the fiance this morning and explained the offer again since apparently they didn't understand............

Send an email that you appreciate that they are not happy and offer in writing to let them out of their lease. Specify the terms in writing (are you charging a re-leasing fee, an early termination fee, or no fee if they leave the home completely clean and are out by X Date).

Tell them in writing that if they wish to take advantage of this one time offer, please replay stating so, and you'll begin the process to re-rent the home.

I would bet money that this tenant is NOT going to spend any money to file in court & if he does he will be laughed out of court.

I love when tenants sue. The minute I get the suit I file a counter claim for some ridicules amount of money like the remainder of the lease. It won't cost you anything to now be the PITA Landlord-- and at this tenants expense. Your PITA tenant is now spreading around how you have no gumption and back down. So the choice is lay down like a door mat OR tell the tenant where to get off.

I think it may be to your advantage if they don't leave right now. They definitely need to go, just at a better time of year for you. At that time (now or later) YOU need to put everything in writing and go get signatures. If, seeing in black & white that you are serious and in charge, they say they change their mind about wanting to leave, then YOU choose either stick to your guns & make them go or tell them: so you are happy here? -then I will not hear any more of this foolishness! And the first time they wiper about anything, they will be gone with a fresh eviction on their record for the next landlord to see.

There's an old saying in my world, "If you're going to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

People who threaten suit (almost) never follow through. On occasion I will tell someone, "Look, if I have to sue you it's going to cost us both a lot of money we could spend elsewhere. And you're going to lose, so let's resolve this."

In this case first, no lawyer is going to take such a case.

Tenants often feel powerless. As a result, if they aren't getting what they think they deserve, they threaten in the only way they know because it's what they see on TV: in the words of Sally after realizing the Great Pumpkin passed her by... "I'll sue!"

Multi-families come with an extra amount of build-in drama that has to be managed. Sounds like you're doing what needs to be done. If tenant is not happy, it's time to invoke the "Happy Clause".

The happy clause should be crafted in a way that there is no third alternative to stay and keep being unhappy. There need to be only two options: stay and be happy, or move and be happy somewhere else.

The tenants submitted in writing to leave at the end of this month and forfeit their security deposit. They are all paid up on rent and they do keep the unit looking proper. We are inclined to accept since they are terrible to deal with and are also making noise in the building among our other tenants whom are great.