I am in the same basic type predicament.

Put the ball in their court it is the right (moral) thing to do to protect people and it is the proper LEGAL thing to do from a liability standpoint.

Dang dude ,Your predicament reads like a standardized test story problem .. two trains leave the station in opposite directions going 85 Miles per hour ....

You need to actually take some classes in property management and find out what is legal, moral, and acceptable. 

Obviously, I would prefer not to mention it at all, but am unsure what legal and/or moral constraints I might be operating under...

the former owner had owned the place for about 5 years and never raised rent.I prevaled, section 8 paid the rent, the tenant paid their share, I raised the rent every year there after and the tenant stayed for 5 more years.The moral of the story is that you can only charge what rent the market will bear, and even though these rents were way too low, that's no reason to keep them there.On the other hand:I, myself have been guilty of not raising rents as aggressively as I should, the above story not with standing.

It was May 26th, 2008 when he passed away and I'd like to gather up some moral and financial support from all of us here with the anniversary coming in less than a week.

What a great post, and even better comments.I find myself in the same predicament as you.

I know that shutting off the water is not an option, so what could you do in this predicament?

The overall moral, if you will, is to figure out what you want and learn how to ask for it.