Tenant deducted from rent

[Winford Hill]

To all experienced landlords,

I have a bit of a dilemma. I used a Property Manager to lease a property for me. Once a tenant was selected, I took over property management responsibilities. One of the community requirements is for all occupants to display parking decals in their vehicles. In March when the tenant moved in, I provided a vehicle registration form and informed her that it needed to be completed and submitted to the HOA in order to remain compliant with community rules (instructions for submitting the form was provided). At the end of April, the tenant informed me that her vehicles had been towed and that she never received her decals. When I contacted the HOA, they stated that they never received the registration form.

Now, I've received May's rent payment, but the tenant has deducted the fee required to retrieve her vehicles from tow. She also submitted a letter stating that she's filed a complaint and will possibly pursue legal action. Her argument is that, since I'm the owner/landlord, it's my responsibility to ensure that she receives her decals. My argument is that I provided her the necessary registration form in a timely manner, and that's it up to her to ensure that she receives and properly displays the decals.

Here are my questions for the forum:

1. Am I at fault? To what extent and I required to ensure tenants receive/display vehicle decals/passes?

2. What do I do with the partial rent payment?

   a. Do I hold it and send her a letter stating that it will not be accepted until received in full and that late payment penalties still apply.

   b. If I deposit the partial payment, can that be interpreted as my agreement to the terms that she laid out as to why she submitted partial payment.

Please advise...