How to deal with a threatening tenant?

Question

I have a tenant who is getting very threatening with me lately.  He gets near my face and asks for things and then he mumbles ghetto quasi-threats as he walks away.  He got behind on his rent so now I am kicking him out, which further aggravated the situation.  What's the best approach to avoid a physical fight?  This is a rough area so calling the police is a minimum 1-2 hour wait.

Mike Cumbie · Answer

There is not a whole lot you should have to do at this point in person. I know you are going to hear "it's your job, your responsibility, you should talk to him, you need to be the boss". In reality you have already decided to remove him from the unit. You will not be physically removing him, you will not be the one who writes the order for him to move, so the only thing your face is going to bring is more anger and put more risk on your unit (and yourself).

There is nothing you being at his door will accomplish. I am guessing you have determined you can't be rational and talk things out? There is no way he is going to be paying? There is no way he is going to see you and think "He was a nice guy maybe i won't put this chair through the wall of his rental". So that being said just follow the process and get him out as quick as possible..... legally and properly.

David Dachtera · Answer

@Stone Teran,

Ask that an officer accompany you next time you need to interface with this tenant. That takes out the wait time.

Mike R. · Answer

Avoid the person at all costs & Concealed carry when ever you have to visit that building....even after eviction...sometimes former tenants will drive by the building and if he sees your vehicle......

James DeRoest · Answer

One of my tenants had a problem neighbor. Cops would not take things seriously, then a friend of his said that there are key phrases that the 911 operator looks for and priorities accordingly.

The phrase he was told was "if you don't come, something is going to go down".

Interestingly, this abusive neighbor of his had only ever gotten verbal warnings from the cops. The usual japes, hanging a noose from a tree, black glove with middle finger up, just general racist "first ammendment" stuff against my tenant just didn't get a response from the cops.

So one Saturday, the racist neighbor kicked off, my tenant called the cops, used the line he'd been practicing for a few days.

Sheriff office sent a supervisor, who saw this racist practicing his first ammendment rights, decided that it was harrassment with credible threat, the neighbor got hauled away, spent two months in jail, the tenant got a restraining order from the judge, and after some back and forth, the neighbor took a plea. We discovered that the public defender had told him the proescutor was upgrading the crime to a hate crime if he didn't plea down. So he did.

Time served plus probation.

He died of a heart attack six months later.

"Something is going to go down".

Have fun.

Jim Adrian · Answer

Don't show up I person alone.  Having a witness will help curb there attitude. Use your phone to record video of his actions.  People tend to behave when you collect proof because its no longer a he said she said issue.

Stone Teran · Answer

Excellent advice.  All of these I am doing.  There is no need for me to say a single word to him, so I won't.  I usually have my guys working with me and he is alone so that helps, but sometimes we split up and he comes looking for me.  He also has a nasty habit of just walking into a vacant unit I am working on.  He got mad when I called it trespassing.

I guess I should just watch myself.  I don't know if a restraining order is an option.  The cops aren't very helpful when it comes to "petty" stuff like this.

Gail K. · Answer

Mike is correct.  Since you indicated you are "kicking him out" I'm assuming you are going through the process of an eviction.  As such AVOID contact with this tenant at this stage of the game.  Allow the court system to continue as it does to get your judgment regarding an eviction due to failure to pay rent.  NO more contact with this guy.

There is a reason that law enforcement oversees the actual eviction (and again, I am assuming that this takes places during your evictions).  Law enforcement is present to make sure that the process goes smoothly WITHOUT violence on the part of either side.  The actual eviction can be a dangerous situation in this day and age.

Whatever you do do not meet this tenant in person to discuss the matter.  It's a done deal.   There was a recent case in the news (not the first or only one by any means) of a young landlord and his girlfriend who went to speak to a tenant residing in a rural area who was being evicted.  The landlords body was recently found; the girlfriends not yet.  The former tenant has been arrested for murder.

Gail

How to deal with a threatening tenant?

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