expressed requested for reasonable accommodations citing a variety of disabilities
around cleanliness of maintenance. Dust may upset or kill her. So we’ve tried to
reasonably accommodate. She had a SMRLS attorney working on her behalf, Mr.
Nilles was working with them to try and accommodate. Essentially the tenant felt they
weren’t representing her interests accurately, so she fired them. Mr. Nilles has been
trying to work with County social services people to try and get help. It has come down
to the fact that he got an agreement she was supposed to move to a hotel we were
paying for, for 2 nights, to do the interior corrections in the unit. That was when SMRLS
was fired. She accepted an alternative version of that, which was she was paid the
amount and she could find her own hotel. It was supposed to happen this past
weekend. At the last hour she said she can’t do it. She supposedly has a live-in
caregiver who isn’t on the lease and she refuses to identify. My client provided a
cashier’s check for the hotel. She is now demanding more now because her alleged
live-in caregiver won’t share a room. We have received notice from St. Paul PHA this
week that she has exercised her right under the Violence against women act and the
lease terminated last Saturday. That means she should have left. But again, she’s
making demands for the second person in the alternative housing. We’ve tried to reach
out to PHA. She hasn’t exercised any statutory rights; to us it is irrelevant. Luke has
said multiple times if she wants to leave, its fine, just let us know. HE isn’t holding her
to any 30-day notice requirement or anything. The most recent communications seem
to indicate she has given a 30-day notice. There is no deadline. If you read what she
wrong strictly one could argue she gave notice April 26 for immediate vacate, or April
14 that may be broadly interpreted as a 30-day notice. But that isn’t necessary
because we’ve told her she can leave whenever she would like. We want to get in. We
can’t send someone in with a potential weapon of violence. The threats are there.
Nilles: I would just add we’ve spent a lot of time trying to get into the unit or a situation
where the tenant is comfortable and a willing participant in this. She’s very quick to be
in this extreme place with demands. It is difficult. The mental health concern is the
part that is hard to manage. Within a month of her moving in, we were there to address
some window issues and fix some blinds. We had 3 repair people in the unit, the
tenant was watching closely, guarding. We had a few windows in the living room and
the door to the bedroom was closed. A repairman asked if it was a closet or bedroom,
knowing the bedroom had a window. It was phrased in a way it was assumed he was
asking for permission. He opened the door and she became unhinged and violent. She
verbally assaulted the whole group. It went into the backyard and alley. It was
dramatic. During the course of that she mentioned using her licensed ability to protect
her property if needed. That’s been hanging over a lot of this. We’re doing this as
politely as we can, trying not to force the issue. She genuinely feels threatened by any
authority, especially a landlord. It has been difficult to navigate. Shortly after that we
met 3 meetings in the unit with Public Health on behalf of the tenant. He helped
mediate and expressed to us some of the health concerns which was helpful. We had
constructive conversations around that, specifically the creation of dust. We
formulated a detailed plan to fix some flooring and window issues. It was requested we
provide organic nontoxic materials when possible for flooring and paint. We sourced
that. it was then requested to talk to the manufacturer about a full list of ingredients,
which we did and presented. Before that could come to a conclusion the tenant felt
that the Public Health worker wasn’t representing her well enough, so we were back
directly communicating with her, and never allowed to enter. Then she had an agency
working with her son who was employed to be a PCA. They tried to get the PSA on the
lease and coordinate some of these, she ended up throwing them and her son out of
her life. SMRLS came into the mix last fall, Sarah Vale, I explained things to her. That
didn’t really go anywhere. Ms. Vale ended up disappearing. Then earlier this spring I
had another communication from Ms. Vale. I don’t know the specifics, but Sarah
ended up stepping away and Mr. Mueller stepped in. We negotiated with Thomas at the
tenant’s request to help her move to a new place, that in the last minute filled with
absurd demands and didn’t trust doing them would result in the desired outcome. She
