Tenant asking me to fill out a "landlord verification" form

[Karen F.]

I have a new tenant who is turning out to be a total pain in the you know what.  Adult couple and kids who began a lease only a month ago.  The unit is very large, was just partially renovated and repainted before they saw it.  Because the area isn't great, it wasn't completely renovated, and because we wanted it rented out quickly, we set the rent at at least 10% below market value.  When we rented it to them, it was "As is condition", but of course we cleaned it up before their move in.  We took the deposit, first month's rent, and signed the lease about 2 weeks before the lease was to start, with keys to go to them just before move in.  They were coming from a nearby higher socioeconomic status town, in a condo development, so this was a major step down in rent for them, and a major step down in quality of housing, too, although much bigger.  These are class C rentals.  They both have decent jobs, no evictions, no small claims lawsuits - at least according to the court records in our state.

One of the adults in the couple is being very contentious and demanding.  First, shortly before move in, she demanded that we repaint the freshly painted unit, from one neutral shade to another neutral shade.  I told her I wouldn't, nor did I want them to repaint, since it had just been done, and offered them out of the deal, with full return of their deposit and rent, even though I'd now held it off the market for them for nearly two weeks, and lease was to begin shortly.  No, they didn't want out.  Next, after we'd given them the keys, after their lease had begun, but before they actually moved in, they informed us that they had had the carpets professionally steam cleaned after we had just done them ourselves with a high quality commercial grade steam cleaner, but not of course the same as a professional carpet cleaning service.  They wanted us now to reimburse them for the professional grade cleaning, because the used water from the professional looked dirty, and because "You really should have replaced the carpets before we moved in".  Again, I told them no, and because they hadn't yet moved in, again offered them the return of their deposit, and out of the lease, only keeping that month's rent, since it was now over halfway through the month, although they hadn't moved in yet.  Again, they did not avail themselves of this offer.  They moved in, and the woman began haranguing us by text, demanding that I reimburse her for the professional cleaning.  When I said I would not, she asked to convert her year lease to month to month.  I said I would not, that the lease could go to month to month after the first year, but that I had painted and cleaned the carpets for her, and that kitchen and bathrooms had been renovated right before her move in, so I would hold her to the first 12 month lease, but if she wanted out of the lease at this point, I would charge her a two month lease termination fee (which just happens to be the amount of the security deposit).  She then threatened to call in the housing inspector (not over any violation, just to try to scare us).  I told her that we have an excellent relationship with every town agency, which we do, and that we consider them to be our partner in providing safe, up to code housing for our tenants, which they are.  Last I heard of that from her.  They paid their first rent in full literally at the end of the day on the last grace day that our state law allows, meaning on the tenth of the month.

A few days later, the woman approached my spouse as he was leaving the property, having been there on business for another unit.  She asked him to sign a form she had filled out, covering up what she had written, INCLUDING FILLING IN THE LANDLORD'S PORTION!  Of course he refused.  I told her that if she wanted us to fill out anything, she should email it to us, and we would send it to whatever agency needed it.  She emailed me a generic "Landlord Verification Form", no agency listed, and asked me to send it directly back to her.  I told her I'd be happy to send it to whatever agency needed it, but that I would only send it directly to the agency, not to her.  She doesn't want that,  she wants me to send it directly to her, and now she's threatening me that if there is anything "untrue" in what I write in that form, "there would be an issue".

I feel that she has no right to demand that I fill out a form and give it to her, and that I have no obligation to do so.  In fact, now that she's threatened me with consequences if she doesn't like what I write, I don't want to fill out any form for her.  Honestly, the only fact that I could/would put in there is that she paid rent on the tenth of the month, and requested payment for an unapproved service.  I don't think I'd even put in there that she had threatened to call in the housing inspector on me, not for any violation, but to try to extort money out of me.  I just want her to leave me alone and pay her rent on time.

Would the court view her as justified in taking any action against me, by ignoring her requests for me to fill out that Landlord Verification form?  There is of course nothing in our lease about me giving her a reference.