Tenant Dispute on Multi-Family

[Nicole Jones]

I have 2 Section 8 tenants in one of my multi-family properties.

1st tenant has been there since I purchased. He is an older gentleman tenant that I inherited and is hearing impaired. His mother has lived in the next door multi-family property... which I do not own. I am expecting this tenant to be around for a very long time in order to be close to his mom. He is a great paying tenant.

2nd tenant has been there for a year. She is a younger female whom is a decent tenant. She pays her rent late most months but pays consistently on the same day and pays the pretty hefty late fee so I haven't minded much as of yet.

One issue is that the hearing impaired gentleman can come off as intrusive and has been too forward in trying to get female tenants attention. He is loud and has a hard time with personal space. He has done the same with me but I just figure he is trying to let me know about certain things going on at the property when I'm there. I'm concerned because according to female tenant, the male has recently pushed the female. This crosses a boundary that I am not sure how to deal with. The female stated that it wasn't a hard push but she wants the male tenant to leave her alone and to even stop talking to her. I advised her to call the police if he touches her again and notified a family member of the male tenant that this is unacceptable. I made a mistake and haven't sent a letter right when finding out but I still intend to. The problem is there is a huge language barrier even with written correspondence so I am unsure of how to notify him in a way that he fully understands what I am trying to say.

There is also a shared backyard that is in question. They both have backdoors leading to a backyard but the male has his unit mostly facing the front yard and female has her unit mainly facing the backyard. She would like for him to stay out of the backyard because she has a dog she keeps there. Pet deposit was received for pet. Initially she had no issue with the male tenant going to the backyard however he keeps leaving the back fence open for her dog to get out. She purchased a lock for the door and the male tenant took the lock off and threw it away according to female tenant. Female tenant has been sending me long text messages about being upset with male tenant. Her lease is almost up and she says she does not want to leave.

There are so many issues, I just thought I'd reach out for advice. The tenant misunderstanding is one thing. The violence and disability/language barrier has made this a more complex issue than I think I can figure out on my own. Any input appreciated.