Follow what is already in your lease, as long as it's in compliance with the landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction.Don't incentivize them to stay together in a bad situation by making it costly for them to leave.

We could tell it wasn't working on our end but the town assured us it was on.

This will only serve to waste valuable time, and you can be assured that the issues you raise with the front-office staff will not be sent to the appropriate channels. 

The city is sending around fake "applicants" to see which landlords are not in compliance, and if not in compliance they can be sued.

They said that they lowered rents because they had sister's friends in there so their rent total = $1,580/monthAnnual gross based off "low" rents = $12,696Cash on Cash ROI = 8%When considering higher rents (which seller assures me we could get) we could gross 1700-1800/monthAnnual Gross = $20,400-21,600Cash on Cash with these higher rents (with below operating expenses deducted each month) would be = 8.6%Operating Expenses: Tax: $84.83/monthInsurance: $55/month5% vacancy: $50/month5% repairs: $50/monthCapital Expense allowance: $183/monthProp.

I got calls from a couple code compliance officers, but they really have no recourse unless they catch you putting it up.  

I want the first thing the Judge sees to be my saga of non-compliance/breach by way of my correspondence, and as an aside- it reminds a tenant of all of their misdeeds and makes appearing in court less appealing.I do everything myself.

I just recently locked in a vet in the mid 3's (can't quote the exact rate for compliance purposes).  

If they are not on the lease, or minors (i.e. children) then they will be kicked out if found out of compliance.

Luckily hearing the same thing over and over on the podcast help assure me I was making the right decision.