I have an unreasonable and unique tenant whose angelic façade has diminished significantly. Rather, she’s now known to me as the low vibrational thirty-something-year-old entitled tenant from hell.
First, let me say that I’m not bitter, and I’ve processed my anger. I actually like her as a person though I do not approve of her behavior. Under the layers of deceit and manipulation, she is quite beautiful. I’m not sure of her backstory, but I’m willing to bet it’s one of pain or trauma. Her mother seems to be an accomplice, so maybe this is a generational hiccup that they must deal with. Not my immediate problem though.
The non-paying tenant started renting from me in 2020. She was late on payments from day one. She only paid the security deposit and promised that the rent amount was forthcoming once she got paid. Leading with my heart allowed me to move forward with the rental. If I had been thinking like a rational businessperson, this would have never happened to me to begin with. So…my bad! Lesson learned. Not everyone is as integral as I’d hoped.
She was late every single month and completely stopped paying rent once we agreed not to renew the lease in 2023. She paid January but requested emergency rental assistance from the county for February through May. Truth be told, she didn’t need the assistance. She could afford the rent from her federal employer and her child support. Nonetheless, she claimed that times were difficult for her. I accepted the funds from the county. She paid for June and hadn’t made a payment since.
I processed eviction documents for her on two occasions. The second time around was July 28th after she missed July’s payment. She got upset because I didn’t agree to keep her in my property until December. So, she stopped paying altogether. She also learned that I didn’t have a rental license – a rule that was implemented by the TOWN (not county or state) in 2020 during COVID. So, she threatened to sue me for back rent of $30K (which she did) because I wasn’t licensed.
The attempts to get my license were blocked by her. She even changed the locks on my property twice without my consent – violating item #13 in our lease agreement. She was served the notice to vacate and has since become a tenant holdover, still claiming she has rights and that I am a lousy landlord whose property violates housing livability codes.
We attended court on October 13th for failure to pay rent. Judgment was granted in my favor, in excess of $8,800. The non-paying tenant (now a squatter) argued with the judge on the decision, came into the lobby, and called me a dirty bitch in front of everyone, and then went to the clerk’s window to continue arguing with them. Later that day, I was contacted by a mediator to ask if I was interested in mediation. I told them “Absolutely not!”
Unfortunately, the law gives her four days to appeal, and then I am able to begin processing her documents with the sheriff’s office. The sheriff is made aware of the case, but even then, they are about two weeks out in eviction matters. That means I will very well go into November dealing with this nonsense.
I wrote a book about this situation. It’s titled To the C*nt Who Will Not Leave My House! Feel free to grab a copy.