Tenants threatening to rent strike

[Christian Hutchinson]

I have a MFH housing unit.  Two units share a washer and dryer.  Both tenants moved in within 2 weeks of each other.  The Washer and Dryer were purchased brand new in August 2019. The washer and dryer were delivered the day before the first tenant moved in.

The dryer malfunctioned in mid-March, and will no longer dry clothes.  I had a handyman look at it attempt to fix it. Then everyone locked down due to Coronavirus.  I called 2 appliance repair shops and they said they would only come out for a $200 fee + any additional parts/labor. I held off because of everything happening, I figured I would address it in early April. I called the appliance store regarding warranty fixes around March 25th they said they were closed.

Then I was having some exterior work being done on the property and the City of Grosse Pointe ordered us to stop. I was told even if I had the grass cut I would be issued a ticket.  This happened April 1st or April 3rd.  During the quarantine period there have been a plumbing and electrical issues on property that was fixed same day (with approval from City).

Early in the quarantine period tenants had issues with internet/wifi bandwidth. I provide internet on site (mainly for the security cameras). I increased bandwith/speeds and made hardware adjustments. I did this at no costs to the tenants.

The dryer is still not fixed because of:

1. Delivery isn't possible, deliver companies won't enter the property
2. Means they can't hookup or remove the dryer that is currently there
3. Dryers are non-essential (Grosse Pointe is saying as of today they are though)
4. Numerous threats by the City saying any work would trigger the $1000 fine.  Today, they said I could have a dryer delivered.
5. I have to quarantine because my spouse is still with Covid+ patients(she works in an ICU Unit in a Metro Detroit Trauma 1 Center) so we are not going into stores(we are ordering everything online) or people's homes unless absolute emergency. So I can't really do it myself.

What triggered today's events.  The painters, who did 80% of all the exterior paintwork, they want to get paid.  They attempted to show up and complete work. I was alerted and stopped them. This made the tenants upset.

The tenants are saying they are unable to wash their clothes and they going to rent strike.  Because of I haven't fixed their dryer.  Making threats of non-payment over a dryer to me is laughable, esp considering the circumstances, and the fact of the matter all other maintenance calls are being addressed immediately. Thrown we are replacing a brand new dryer, something less than 7 months old.  I didn't accuse anyone with abuse or user damages.

I have tried to be transparent about the issue, explaining I have been threaten with fines for doing work, service call fees are double/triple the costs, and it just comes down to, its cheaper to buy a new dryer ($475)

To add to the issue, I have a 3rd year law student and the other unit is some 24 year old that works at a Big 4 Firm who think/view this is an unimaginable inconvenience, and the law student is citing all sorts of legal codes on why blah blah blah is a certain way, but obvious has never been to small claims courts where paperwork and circumstances matter greatly, or the costs of having to deal with the this stuff is problematic. I explained, I can get a ticket if someone does work.  He says 'thats non-transferable', and I said "in the real world i you hire out the service as a property owner/business owner and it breaks a law guess who is on the hook or you have to spend money trying to prove you are not".

Either way whats the best way to handle this? Because at this point its out of control.