Tenant Threatening Law Suite

[Peter Kovachev]

Hello All, I am looking for advice and help with a problem tenant. His lease is up April 15th but I received an email the other day asking for a "break on rent" since his ex is suing him for "ungodly amounts of money", he has a baby on the way, and his biggest client just dropped him. I spoke to him in person and we agreed that he could have a $200 discount on rent for the next 2 months.

Later that night on instagram I find out he is on a plane to Vail to celebrate his daughters birthday. So basically he asked for help on rent but then goes on an expensive skiing trip with his fiance and 16 year old. I emailed him the next day to say that Ive changed my mind (never signed anything) and that rent will not be discounted because if you can afford a ski trip you can afford your rent.

Now he is threatening getting his lawyer involved and bringing up money he has spent on the house. Does he have any leverage here? What is the best thing to do when a tenant threatens with a lawyer?

[JD Martin]

As someone who has dealt with lawyers for many years, been sued a few times, and dealt with a lot of tenants, my take: no one who really intends to sue you ever says so. If someone is going to sue, they just call their lawyer and make it happen - matter of fact, true litigants will depend on the surprise bombshell to force your hand (the "wet your pants" moment you find out there's been a suit filed against you). Anyone who threatens to sue, they are 99.9% of the time empty threats designed to try to just get their way or bully you into acting a certain way.

That said - you told him $200 per month off for 2 months. I think you should stick to it. And learn your lesson for the next tenant.