Hey Local BP'ers,
Must warn you, this is a lengthy read but an interesting scenario that could happen to you. I have a hostile tenant whose going directly to the local health inspector and building inspector to report any issues in what we think is to avoid paying rent. She hasn't paid October rent and I suspect she will try not to pay for November as well. She reported mold in the basement, claiming that she got sick from it but provided no evidence, no diagnosis from the doctor, and no mold test. My property manager went there several times and saw no mold in the basement and maybe some light mildew on the drain pipes from all the unusual rain we had this year but that's about it. My property manager even sprayed some bleach on the walls to help with any musty basement smell. This basement was redone two years ago with an incredible contractor who's well known in the area and the basement is extremely clean and spotless. This tenant then called the health inspector and this guy called my property manager. Here's the weird part. He got angry and yelled at her for asking him to email her the details so she hasn't missed anything. He threatened to bring the state inspector if he had to email her. Mind you he hasn't even been to the property. My property manager had to call the town to make sure this was the health inspector.
We scheduled a visit to the property with this inspector the following week with my contractor who wasn't going to take his bull and my property manager. He started off again yelling and swearing at them for no apparent reason. My property manager had to repeatedly ask him to stop as there were tenants working from home. Throughout the whole inspection he mentioned no mold but just mildew in some places. He told my contractor the beams are wet and rotting and should be replaced which my contractor disagreed and he told to him to stick with the health code. The inspector even tried to accuse my contractor of spray foaming to hide issues. At this point my contractor was fuming. They all agreed dehumidifiers would help and should be installed. He then later apologized to my contractor and said he had a bad week. I'm sorry that's no excuse to act that way in any profession especially from a town official.
I ordered the dehumidifiers and scheduled an install with my contractor as there needed to be electrical outlets to be installed. In the mean time we served the tenant a demand for rent and the eviction notice. On the day of the eviction notice expire, my property manager gets an email from the health inspector with just a sentence "For your information" and a photo of his citation log book reporting mold everywhere and needs to be fixed asap. I find this very strange and coincidental. On the day of the install, my property manager serves her another demand for rent and notice to evict (she wrote the wrong amount so she had to redo it again) and the tenant threatened me that she talked to lawyers and will "counter sue me" with the health inspector. You can't counter sue without being sued first, you numnut. She hasn't even written a letter to withhold rent so there's no case. Hasn't her lawyer told her that? She's has a history of yelling and screaming (notice the trend here?) and her roommate had to leave because of her. She is a problem and we will deal with her. I have an eviction attorney helping us out so we'll get through this one way or the other.
What bothers me is this health inspector. Something is really off with this guy. It almost seems there was something going on with this health inspector and the tenant. He basically filled a false report in his citation book. Who emails a photo of their citation log as a threat? My contractor left a lengthy message to the building inspector whom my contractor has a great relationship with. Another vendor reported a complaint about him. We heard the building inspector is not a big fan of the health inspector. I plan on writing a formal letter to the board of selectmen and the building inspector but anyone know what else we can do to report this guy? He cannot continue to bully and abuse his power on to anyone else. I want to make sure this does not go unnoticed.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end.
