Tenant trying to reduce rent due to a leak.

[Vincent Plant]

A few months back my tenant pointed out to me that the sink sprayer in the kitchen was at a drip. She didn't seem so concerned with it and I didn't see it as an immediate need so I admittedly brushed it off and have since forgotten it. 

So this month she shows up with her portion of the rent (shes section 8 and they pay most of her rent) and its $80 light. She hand wrote me a note stating that its reduced because her water bill over the past few months has been more because of this drip so shes taking it out of her rent! Am I insane or is this completely inexcusable? She can't just tell me what she's going to pay right? She calculated her average monthly water bill to show how she got to that number.   

I am a rookie landlord so I'm not exactly sure what to do here, and advice? 

[Thomas S.]

Serve her with a pay or quit notice and tell her you will be informing her handler you will be letting them know she did not pay full rent. The notice is simply officially notifying her she needs to pay. When her lease is up do not renew. You do not need the hassles of tenants that decide how much they are willing to pay for rent.

As a rookie landlord this is the exact sort of situation that if handled wrong will lead to further issues. It is always best to take a firm position and say no otherwise you are heading down a rabbit hole. Never cater to this type of behaviour. It does not matter whether the water bill was higher, although not likely due only to the drip, what matters is you can never allow a tenant to believe they can control your business. Say no and fix the leak. Moving forward do not allow yourself to get into this type of situation.