Failure to pay rent

[Ryan Miller]

I have a tenant that has been renting for 3.5 years and is not the best tenant. Nothing major but usually late and has a few lease violations in her file that she has corrected. Her job was not affected during Covid but I was very understanding of how stressful the year was for everyone.

Now, out of the blue she has submitted 6 maintenance requests and stated that she will not pay rent until they are corrected. I maintain my units and quickly repair any issues. The requests have never been mentioned in the past. They are simple requests like a toilet is running and a cabinet door is loose but also larger requests like needing the entire house painted and that half of the window screens are missing. Keep in mind none of these were issues a few weeks ago at our mid year inspection.

Does anyone have advise or have been though something like this? The unit is on the Eastern shore of Maryland. I looks like we are heading to court for failure to pay.