Tenants wants me to write a letter

[Wesley W.]

Hello All,

So - here's a new one, for me at least.

Very good tenant - single mother with a 4 year old, living in a 1BR apartment.  Apartment is coded for 2 (used to be a 2BR and was converted to open concept.)

Her ex is taking her back to court saying her apartment is unfit for their child.  Code enforcement runs a tight ship around here and the unit is completely in compliance based on her family size and square footage.  The unit has a weird layout (because of the conversion), so her son has the bedroom proper, and she sleeps in an area right off the bedroom that is part of the main living space (separated from the living room by an interior wall with an archway).

Her request: "I know this doesn't have anything to do with you but would you be willing to write a formal letter stating the apartment is coded for 2 people and that my son has his own room/ i keep it well maintained."

My worry is that "no good deed goes unpunished" and that if I write a letter, I may find myself subpoenaed as part of their custody dispute answering questions about the apartment.  I was thinking of sending her a PDF of the ROP (called a CO in most places) that shows it is coded properly and leave it at that.

What do you think?  What has been your experience?  What did you do?

[Anthony Wick]

@Wesley W.

First, don’t worry about getting subpoenaed if you write the letter, because you could be subpoenaed no matter what. As a matter of fact, talk to her attorney directly and state you’d like to be subpoenaed. Why? Because you can most likely then satisfy the subpoena with a letter rather than having to show up in court in person, and it covers your business for any legal action by husbands attorney.

Don’t exaggerate in the letter or speak to what you cannot confirm. You cannot confirm she always keeps the place in a tidy manner, or where the child sleeps, or where she sleeps. You know her place is coded for two people. You know each time you have inspected her place it has zero violations of the lease and is in acceptable condition. Etc. etc.