About 3 years ago I gave notice to 10 year alcoholic tenants who had become so verbally abusive I could not deal with them. When the tenants moved, I found a glass tube pipe packed with copper wool in the bathroom. According to Google, this kind of pipe is for meth or crack.

A few days ago, I saw the husband in a food store. He looked very sick and zombie like. I left before he saw me. I do not need a public fistfight and possible legal problems.

I will never give a good landlord reference to these people. Is there anything I can tell a prospective landlord about the suspected drug use WITHOUT getting in legal trouble? I do not want these train wrecks to rip off a newbie landlord. Thank you in a advance for any advice.

Yes the Brillo is used as a filter in a crack pipe.

I guess everyone else here is at the convention but I'll take a stab at it. They've been out for three years and you haven't gotten a reference call so maybe you never will.

I'm assuming they've already burned some other landlord in the interim and have other negative items that will come up in a background check. I would not worry about it, maybe no one will ever call. I'm guessing that whoever rents to them to next is the type who doesn't bother doing reference calls or doing any checks.

You said they were verbally abusive to you. Maybe you could find a way to work that into the reference if someone does call instead of the drug issue.

I am sure that if they have been busted for drugs.. that it would show up on their background checks anyways. I always check our Iowa Courts Online and everything is there... so it is public knowledge. Stating the facts shouldn't get you in trouble.