One tenant threatened another with violence - what should I do?

Question

I rent a townhouse to three adult college students on three individual leases co-signed by their parents.  I got a call from tenant A's father who said that tenant B threatened tenant C.  He went on to say that tenant B was suffering from mental health issues exacerbated by the COVID shutdowns.  Tenant's A and C feel unsafe and have moved out of the unit into tenant A's father's house.

I asked to speak with tenant A and C to hear their side.  It sounds like it was a verbal threat.  They do not want to involve the police.  There is language in the lease that could probably be used for an eviction case but it's not black and white.  I said I wanted to speak to tenant B first but I am open to the idea of finding a suitable replacement roommates to assume the leases, as long as the roommates meet my original screening criteria.

I spoke to tenant B and made the same offer, and tenant B was open to it.  I encouraged them to work it out between themselves and let me know what they want to do.  I offered to market the unit on Zillow etc. if they want to look for another roommate.

That's where it stands.  Tenant A's father (a co-signer) would like to see it resolved.

What red flags do you see?  I'm thinking I should put an ad out for new roommates and ask tenants A, B and C who wants to move out. I'd probably let A and C break the lease and give B cash for keys if it came to it.  I'd love to hear some other ideas.  Thanks!

Ujwal Velagapudi · Answer

Tricky situation, especially if/when parents & co-signers get involved. I've always let those type of situations be dealt among themselves, and I'd only advise (minimally) as a 3rd party but not as a landlord. I only govern based on what is on my lease, and if not, then it's for y'all (tenants) to sort out as adults or the police. But of course it's never that simple, especially if they are individual leases under the same roof.

I think you're definitely doing the right thing, offering to market for them, and even providing the out for their leases if they wish. For you though, they are still on the hook for the lease, so I'd still hold them to it until a suitable new tenant assumes the remainder of the lease.

How about just cash for keys to tenant B, and letting the other two stay? Keep the good ones, let the other one go.

Julio Garcia · Answer

Sounds like you've though it through.; I'd do the same.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Jim Young tell them that police need to be involved, so you can take action to get tenant B out. Otherwise tenant A and C need to keep paying their rent. Your solution of letting A and C out of their lease and paying tenant B to leave is horrible. You would be better off paying tenant B and making A and C stay - although I don't recommend cash for keys.

Maybe you should call tenant B's parents and explain that police will need to be involved if tenant B is unable to find a new home. They may dig in their heals or they may be smart and realize that their kids name on a police report isn't good.

Were these roommates selected by you or did they know each other ahead of time? It is better if you rent to a group, because where there are disputes, you can fall back on them selecting each other to live with. If you picked them, it falls on you to mediate unfortunately.

Good luck.

Kyle J. · Answer

My first thought is that this is mainly a problem between the tenants, so I personally would not offer cash for keys to anyone as I don't think you (the landlord) should be out any money in this situation.  Why should you?  You didn't do anything wrong, and it sounds as if you have three tenants (and three co-signors) to hold responsible for the rent should someone decide to stop paying the rent.  And although you didn't mention what the specific "verbal threat" was, I also factored in that it apparently wasn't serious enough for anyone to involve the police.

So, while I think it's nice that you want to help them remedy what they seem to feel has become an untenable living situation, I certainly don't think you should also be required to foot any sort of financial bill to help solve their problem.

Is Tenant B open to leaving?  If he's the alleged problem person, it seems easiest to have him just leave voluntarily.  Then Tenants A & C can just stay, and you'd only have to find one new tenant to replace Tenant B instead of two (A & C).

One thing I would not do is let A & C break the lease while keeping B.  If you let B stay and he really is a problem, he could have another run in with whoever you get to replace A & C and then you're right back where you started at.

Just something to think about.

Steve Morris · Answer

You're going to need some sort of police report if you want to take action against the tenants, so call them first.

If you need to do something legal, your say-so isn't enough.

Bradley Sriro · Answer

@Jim Young When you say tenant B was open to it, what do you mean? That they were open to staying and you finding 2 new roommates to replace A and C?

One tenant threatened another with violence - what should I do?

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