Tenant making threats

[Tobey Porter]

Long story short, I have a tenant at a property in Ohio who is unhappy with how another tenant is parking.  My property manager has spoken with both tenants and tried to fix the situation.  In the midst of a profanity-laced tirade yesterday, the unhappy tenant said, "if you do not do something prepare to have this get a lot worse".  She also claimed she will hold onto her rent until the situation is resolved.  Her lease is up and she is on a month-to-month agreement now.  Any advice on how to delicately deal with this would be appreciated?  Our fear is when we go to evict her, she will tear the apartment up.  Any recourse to that if it does happen?

Thanks in advance.

[Bradford Myatt]

Sounds like you are dealing with a "child" who is making threats to get their way.  Whenever dealing with a situation like this (child or tenant) I would pose multiple options to the tenant to resolve the situation.  Be sure to communicate the fact that you are hearing and understanding their concerns and that you want a solution just as badly as they do. However, posing threats such as the "situation will get a lot worse" or "I will not pay my rent" are not options and will not be tolerated. 

  I would offer two situations such as, 1) You will gladly facilitate a remediation with those parties involved and hopefully find a solution everyone can live with, or 2) You will gladly refund as much as possible of their security deposit in hopes it will allow them to find a place they can feel comfortable, IF the unit is left in a suitable state. 

Hope this helps and good luck.  Keep up updated!