Record it all. Prepare bills for the expenses required to protect yourself. Add all these charges to your lawsuit.

Good thing this is someone you can likely get a judgement on and collect.

Thanks for all the replies! I am a 70 YO widow being taken advantage of - I know that.The noise issue is coming from plumbing. It is minor and relatively inexpensive and I offered to mitigate it a year ago. She declined construction (in writing). Her lawyer now says, 14 months later, that the noise has driven them from the bedroom, has "deprived them of quiet enjoyment," and I must "repair and restore the premises." Since i plan to eventually more there, I'm willing to mitigate the noise I deduct it all on the rental.

Unless the tenant has already closed on their new house it will kill their financing to miss the rent payment during the approval process - even during Covid-19.

If she has closed and is trying to get work done in the new house before she moves in that's still no reason to withhold rent without putting the rent money into the court accounts designated for these events.

Was this a short term lease? Why is she asking for noise mitigation now? That seems weird to me to ask for it two months before she moves.

To answer some of your questions:

1. She has money. She is a doctor with only one child and a spouse.

2. She hates the upstairs people and blames me because they are walking around. Especially after school closings and mandatory lock-down. I have made several accommodations for them (yes, I have receipts). She wants to hurt me, that's all.

3. The notice from her attorney is bogus on several counts (no time limit, no escrow, and this was first notice): no basis in law, no basis in the science of acoustics, no basis in accuracy, nor history of the issue at hand. I see an ethics filing with the state bar in her future.

4. Tenant refused in writing construction to mitigate 14 months ago. There is no other solution to the noise.

All of this is documented.

The thing I am most interested in learning from this group

is that the tenant, by her own admission and due to her employment activity, has made the property contagious. Does anyone know of anything in statute that says she must make the premises safe for my contractors?

You were right - a pro.

Good chance she is bluffing about withholding. Doesn't have it. If your courts are open, or when they open, file for eviction. At least you have most in writing and regardless of what they say, THEY DIDN'T PAY. That is what it will come down to. I should not be getting more expensive for you. Just document. Make it the only contact.

Depends on closing, their house may not be ready for awhile. File as soon as you can.

You need to get a lawyer experienced in landlord tenant law.

Stop talking to the tenant.

All requests in writing

Sue her at your first chance for non-payment

All the rest is blah blah blah, ignore.

She is being difficult intentionally. I would not hire any noise mitigation plumbers, if you do this doc will find more issues to muddy the water.

Thanks everyone for being so generous. This is in Westchester County. It is exactly my Plan to file the papers for non payment whether they leave or not- I have a Landlord-Tenant attorney and I will just take it off the front burner. It is very upsetting. They would love to push this into litigation, but I am not going there. I will just file the non payment notice when the time comes. They will have moved out by then.

I spent the afternoon downloading all our mutual texts. But without proper notice and an escrow, they haven't a this is an illegal document drawn to harass the landlord.

But courts are funny things. I hate to have to go there.

Thanks everyone for being so generous. This is in Westchester County. It is exactly my Plan to file the papers for non payment whether they leave or not- I have a Landlord-Tenant attorney and I will just take it off the front burner. It is very upsetting. They would love to push this into litigation, but I am not going there. I will just file the non payment notice when the time comes. They will have moved out by then.

I spent the afternoon downloading all our mutual texts. But without proper notice and an escrow, they haven't a this is an illegal document drawn to harass the landlord.

But courts are funny things. I hate to have to go there.

Just have your plumber wear mask, eye protection, gloves and a painter's suit and they should be fine. I'd try my best to eliminate her excuses no matter what.

She works with COVID patients as an MD. Big deal. She's taking precautions. I bet she's in the clear. My wife puts breathing tubes down COVID patients' throats while they're coughing and gagging in her face. She takes precautions, wears the right PPEs, observes protocols, showers and changes before coming home, and I kiss her goodnight every night without any fears.

If she wants to play that game, require that she wear a protective full-suit PPE that you provide. Find the hottest, most uncomfortable PPE you can find.

I just got this from my texting file. I have someone who was going to take the contractor into the house to do an assessment. She said (and he reiterated to me in writing) "she is very likely and positively exposed to COVID 19 every day. I would think its smart to let the contractor know this before he agrees to come inside. The whole family will 100% be there at 10 AM on Monday the time she agreed to allow people in the house."

I just got this from my texting file. I have someone who was going to take the contractor into the house to do an assessment. She said (and he reiterated to me in writing) "she is very likely and positively exposed to COVID 19 every day. I would think its smart to let the contractor know this before he agrees to come inside. The whole family will 100% be there at 10 AM on Monday the time she agreed to allow people in the house."

You don't need the judgement - only a Lis Pendens and drop that off at the local closing office.

Closing will be stopped until this matter is cleared up.

So - my Lis Pendens is against the tenant's action, (not a property) and will stop their financing from going through? Really?

Does she own the house yet, or is she still in the financing stage?

This is my experience. This was in my earlier days when I was first learning how much it actually cost to fix all of those holes and dents in the wall.

My tenant was applying for a mortgage and thought that it would be a fine thing to stiff me for the final month’s rent. In the last three weeks or so before her loan was due, her lender sent me a Verification of Rents or Mortgage form. I believe that this is required if the lender is going to sell the loan to Fannie or Freddie. Most loans are securitized, so the loans have to meet certain qualifications. I wrote on the form that she was refusing to pay the most current month’s rent, as well as she owed me for the estimated damages (as per my lease).

Within 24 hours of sending the form to her lender, she paid all of the rent due up to that point. Her lender then sent another Verification of Rents or Mortgage form. I updated it that she was current on rent but still owed on the estimated amount of damages. Her lender then gave her the loan.

This made her a homeowner, so very collectible on the damages, after a subsequent judgment. The judgment then attached to the home that her lender was so generous on. That is a different story, but she is now paying on that judgment.

I don’t believe a lis pendens is applicable for your tenant at this point, but it could be a very useful tool later on, after she is a homeowner and you have a judgment, some patience, and let interest accrue.

The VOR form is pretty much standard. Google it. She has two months left to get financing. In that time, she sounds determined to be both in arrears, and more than 30 days past due. She is digging her own hole.

My lessons learned:

1. Have patience.

2. Work within the system.

3. Be in the path of what and to whom rents are reported. Don’t let a third party service get between you and your direct conversation with the tenant’s potential lender. This is a good reason to opt out of automatic “reporting to build credit for your tenant.” (That is also another story.)

4. Don’t be surprised when a formerly good paying tenant suddenly becomes a bad paying tenant just before they buy the home. Their true colors show.

5. Don’t be surprised if a non-paying tenant calls you begging for you to lie on the form for them while still trying to simultaneously stiff you for rent or other monies owed.

6. Did I mention – have patience.

Blessings to you, Sir Walter. You have done my heart good. I have not received anything from a bank, and doubt I will. They are closing next week. I think my mortgage company will give me some forbearance on the rental, which should bring my blood pressure down.

But.

I will be building a paper trail in the next 6 weeks on how she has repeatedly refused to let me in to make the "repairs". This has been her pattern since she arrived. I would not be surprised if she stays an extra month just to spite me. I want to be able to demonstrate in court that I did what I could to "cure" the violation, even though it isn't true.

Unfortunately for her, and her lawyer, I am a professional fraud investigator (health care). I knew her lawyer's demand was a fraudulent misrepresentation of the facts the minute I received it. It also had no basis in law. It contains many flaws. I intend to write a pretty strong ethics complaint to the NY bar, and after the tenant moves out send a copy of same to the Co-op Board with apologies that I was blocked from sending a letter to them without going through a censor. (She would only let me send a letter to her personal email discussing rent, not all the BS I have had to put up with. I could not reach out to the Board myself.) I think it should get the attention of the Board Attorney.

This is a small town, and everybody covers everybody's behind. The lawyers and the RE agents involved all want this to go through so they can get paid, so no one will tell me where she is going, even my own attorney as he represents the seller. The RE agent also has represented me for 10 years. And since I still gotta live here, I need these guys.

First, our pause for NY is in effect until the end of the week and the emergency declaration is in effect until mid June. I am willing to bet your county is not among those that will be opening soon. Therefore, unless it is an emergency repair, the plumber should not be working on it. Noise is not an emergency. (especially after 14 months)

I had to put a call in to the electric company for the line coming into the house. There is no reason they would need to enter the house, yet they asked the standard questions about sickness and exposure. So I would think plumbers would want to know that as well, and really could refuse to come due to their exposure. So get the plumbers to refuse. Document.

Thanks - I know. It just makes my case stronger when I finally take them to court. Whenever that will be. Good idea to get the contractor on the record about entrance.

Nice!

Thanks

Linda,

Be careful to not violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or any of the shades of gray related to consumer protection when speaking to others and naming your tenant. Don’t squeeze the realtor and attorney, unless the attorney is working for you for the debt collection issue. Simply get her new address directly from public records when the deed is recorded.

Your attorney should know NY law on withholding rent. If he has a conflict of interest and cannot advise you or write a response letter to her lawyer’s notice, get a different lawyer to send one for a small fee. You should use an attorney well-versed in landlord-tenant law, not simply your closing attorney. Take the time to call around for one. Even in a rural area, different attorneys have different areas of specialty. One will often refer you to another. Make 5-10 calls until you find the right one. You might be surprised.

Don’t be surprised if a VOR is sent to you during the week that she is scheduled to close. Mortgage lenders often wait until the last minute. If they do send it to you, ensure that they also send her signed authorization to release information. If they don’t, ask for that first before sending the VOR back – and save the signed authorization. Then fill in the form, sticking to the facts:

1. She is currently behind in her rents.

2. Her tenancy is scheduled to end next month.

3. She recently started withholding rent for unfounded reasons, for a repair that you offered to make 14 months ago and that she refused in writing, and that you are attaching a copy of that refusal. Also state that this raises a credit worthiness issue for you as a landlord.

4. Ask that they strongly encourage her to pay this month’s rent promptly, in certified funds only.

5. Ask that, as part of closing, they require her to deposit next month’s rent in the attorney of your choice’s escrow account until the unfounded repair issue is resolved. (This may not occur, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.)

Too bad. I remember this being an aggravating situation. Everyone is incentivized to close.