Question about responding to tenant threatening to withhold rent

[Taha Tekreeti]

I manage my own property in Virginia, and my tenant asked me to replace the oven because it's burning food. I asked for measurements to arrange the replacement, but they took two weeks to respond. When they finally sent the measurements, they also listed other repairs. I was busy and didn’t reply immediately, and now they’re saying they’ll withhold rent until I address their requests. How should I respond without seeming like I'm only replying because of their threat?

[Greg M.]

Unless VA is very different, they can only withhold rent for very limited issues that affect habitability. It also usually requires opening a special bank account and depositing the rent and/or getting court approval.

No rent = eviction notice. 

And are you sure the oven needs replacement. Most likely just needs a new internal thermostat or the tenant is an idiot and is causing the burned food. I had a tenant complain to me that the oven never gets hot enough, but the food does cook. They had changed the digital thermostat setting to celsius instead of fahrenheit. 🙄