states that for all evictions, except “nuisance” evictions, the tenant can claim as a defense that they have applied for rental assistance.

It's a waste of time.B) If you are attempting to jack up the rent you are going to be in a precarious position to claim damages.

Would placing LVP be considered as an improvement or I can claim it as a repair when replacing very gross, stained, smelly carpet with holes in it and a rough subfloor (not possible to refinish)?

After all, even $150 savings per month is equivalent to the cash flow from a single rental unit.One thought that crosses my mind is that I probably wouldn't make insurance claims on small things like appliance replacements, since it will increase the policy premium(?) 

@Waylon Zook I have connections to handymen and some claim they can do the roofing work.

His landlord/owner of upstairs unit is somewhat uninterested in our experience, claiming that the tenant has been good with them.

Mainly, because of unrealistic budgets.

Whatever the tenants tell you in regards to amount of people living there, chances are there will be more then they claim.

As far as tenants claiming not to be able to afford this increase, I'm not sure if they would have to prove through paystubs or something. 

The debt doesn't have to be in the LLC's name, and after the loan is complete you can almost always do a quit-claim deed into the LLC to put it on title.